7A — Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Arts & Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Shared universe
takes over at CW
TV NOTEBOOK
The CW’s superhero
series show pros and
cons of crossovers
By BEN ROSENSTOCK
Daily Arts Writer
Next
January,
the
CW
will
launch
“DC’s
Legends
of
Tomorrow,”
a
spinoff
series
taking
place
in
the
same
narrative
universe
as
the channel’s other popular
superhero shows, “Arrow” and
“The Flash.” The show will
feature an Avengers-style team-
up with Ray Palmer (Brandon
Routh, “Chuck”) and Sara Lance
(Caity Lotz, “Mad Men”), two
major
supporting
characters
in earlier seasons of “Arrow.”
There will also be characters
from “The Flash,” including
Martin Stein (Victor Garber,
“Godspell”), Captain Cold and
Heat Wave (Wentworth Miller
and Dominic Purcell, “Prison
Break”). The problem is this:
at the start of each existing
show’s current airing seasons,
none of these characters were
in a position where the new
show’s premise would make
sense. As a result, the past
few episodes have slowly been
moving the pieces around to set
up “Legends of Tomorrow.”
Setting
up
future
stories
has
increasingly
become
a
part of superhero narratives.
“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” began
integrating
mythology
about
the “Inhumans” last season, and
this will eventually plant the
seed for a future “Inhumans”
movie (possibly in 2019, if a new
writer is found). The movies of
the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
too, have included little threads
to set up future installments,
like Thor’s disjointed subplot
in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
In fact, some viewers criticize
the
M.C.U.’s
overreliance
on serialization in general,
devoting most of its films to
tracking Infinity Stones that
won’t really pay off until the
third and fourth films are
released.
The
CW’s
franchise-
building
has
gained
some
criticism, too, and though
their
cultural
reach
is
admittedly smaller than that
of “The Avengers,” “The Flash”
and “Arrow” can be helpful
tools in understanding when
expositional setup works and
when it feels like nothing more
than table-setting.
Using the A.V. Club’s episodic
grades
and
corresponding
comments as a rough indicator
of critical quality, “The Flash”
reached its nadir last week with
“The Fury of Firestorm.” The
episode’s main plot is devoted
exclusively
to
replacing
the
departed Ronnie Raymond with
a new character to take up the
Firestorm mantle. Part of this
feels like a waste of time because
the cast was announced for
“Legends of Tomorrow” months
ago, so viewers already know
Franz Drameh (“Some Girls”)
will appear as Jefferson Jackson,
the new character who will team
up with Martin Stein and turn
into a Human Torch-esque hero.
The greater problem, though,
is the balance of plots. By
devoting a main plot entirely to
finding Jefferson Jackson, it’s
much more obvious that this
is meant to set up something
down the road. Meanwhile, the
far more interesting stories are
relegated to the background,
like Iris West’s (Candice Patton,
“The
Game”)
confrontation
with
the
mother
she
had
always thought was dead. Most
notably, though, this episode
almost completely ignores the
momentous return of Harrison
Wells (Tom Cavanagh, “Ed”),
last season’s amazing villain. At
the end of last week, a Wells from
a parallel universe appeared in
S.T.A.R. Labs, but this week’s
episode delays his inevitable
confrontation
with
Barry
Allen (Grant Gustin, “Glee”)
until the very last moment.
Essentially, the problem with
the procedural isn’t necessarily
that
the
case-of-the-week
is wholly uninteresting; the
problem is that the case-of-
the-week
is
foregrounded
instead of the thrilling new plot
developments.
“Arrow,”
meanwhile,
has
done a much stronger job
setting up the return of Ray
Palmer and Sara Lance, both
of
whom
were
supposedly
dead at the end of last season.
In the past few episodes’
subplots, Felicity (Emily Bett
Rickards,
“Brooklyn”)
has
been receiving strange coded
messages. Ray Palmer, the only
one who has the ability to send
these messages, has seemingly
been
communicating
from
beyond the grave. By confining
this table-setting to small
chunks of time, it feels like a
slow-burning add-on — not a
superfluous bit of setup.
Meanwhile, each episode’s
B-plot has been dedicated to
Sara’s resurrection. There are
a few reasons this story doesn’t
feel rote. To begin with, the
desire to bring Sara back to
life is grounded in character
motivations;
Laurel
(Katie
Cassidy,
“Supernatural”)
understandably
wishes
her
sister was still alive, so when
she finds out that there’s a
“Lazarus pit” that can bring
her back, she pursues the
possibility. “Arrow” also makes
the smart choice to destroy the
Lazarus pit once Sara is back,
so that’s one avenue that can
no longer be used for cheap
resurrection on the part of the
writers.
Lastly,
Sara’s
symptoms
upon resurrection — she’s an
incoherent, animalistic beast,
no longer really herself —
prevent her return from feeling
contrived. Really bringing Sara
back to life isn’t as easy as it
sounds, and “Arrow” continues
to wring thrills and emotional
tension from her situation.
Table-setting doesn’t have
to feel so mechanical, though
“The Flash” has occasionally
descended into that territory.
This season, though, “Arrow”
has
shown
that
smart
writing and a tight focus on
characterization can make any
plot movement feel true to the
story, not just lame setup for
the next new franchise. Making
sure each episode succeeds on
its own is key to introducing
new stories in an organic way.
THE CW
“No I can’t hear anything, but at least I look flashy. Get it?”
CW’s franchise-
building has
gained some
criticism, too.
The greater
problem,
though, is the
balance of plots.
Future stories
have become a
part of superhero
narratives.
Seniors savor first Big Ten
championship since 1998
By SYLVANNA GROSS
Daily Sports Writer
Senior year is typically full of
lasts. The last time you’ll pull an
all-nighter to study. The last time
you’ll take a walk in the Nichols
Arboretum. The last time you’ll
attend a lecture at Rackham
Auditorium.
But for some members of the
Michigan men’s cross country
team, senior year brought a first.
It was the first time the
Wolverines were able to call
themselves Big Ten champions.
“A lot of the runners are seniors
and fifth-year seniors, and they’ve
never gotten to the top of the
podium,” said Michigan coach
Kevin Sullivan. “It’s been such
a long time since (this program)
won. This team wanted to win
and wanted to leave their mark,
and that’s what they did.”
The last time the fifth-ranked
Wolverines ran their way to first
place was in 1998 — Sullivan’s
final year as a Michigan track
athlete.
Previously,
Sullivan
won the individual title at the
Big Ten Championship for three
consecutive years from 1993 to
1995 and again in 1997.
After this season, fifth-year
seniors Mason Ferlic, August
Pappas and Nick Posada will
no longer be NCAA eligible.
Seniors Alex Moran and Tony
Smoragiewiecz
will
also
be
leaving
the
team,
although
Smoragiewiez will have one more
year of track and field eligibility.
The most notable absence on
the team will be that of Ferlic’s,
who became a prominent force
for Michigan after he redshirted
his sophomore season due to an
injury. He has led the Wolverines
for 17 consecutive races and seven
postseason meets. He’s been
named a two-time All-American
and has been awarded Big Ten
Athlete of the Week six times.
Not surprisingly, Ferlic has also
captained the men’s cross country
team for three years.
Despite
his
achievements,
Ferlic
still
harbors
some
dissapointment that he didn’t
meet his personal goal of an
individual title. He fell seven
seconds short of frontrunner Matt
McClintock from Purdue.
“I’m sad this is my last
championship
season,”
Ferlic
said.
“I’ve
dreamed
about
winning a conference title for my
team since I was a freshman. Even
though I didn’t win an individual
title, as a team we finally won. We
wanted nothing more than to end
as Big Ten champions. I think all
the seniors are satisfied. We can
close that chapter of our running
careers.”
Added
Smoragiewiecz:
“We went into this race with a
different mindset today. We went
in knowing we could win. It was
ours to win. We could do it. It was
this confidence that allowed us to
be champions.”
Winning the 2015 Big Ten
title ended the longest drought
without a conference title since
cross country regained varsity
status in 1972.
A lot of what the runners
chalk their confidence up to is
experience and knowing that a
pre-determined race plan will
never work. Both Ferlic and
junior Ben Flanagan, co-captains,
preach flexibility to their team.
“I don’t think there’s been much
of a difference in my mindset
about running from year to year,”
Ferlic said. “You obviously always
get stronger, faster and more
mature in your race tactics, but
I’ve stayed consistent in how I
approach these races. I come in
with this confidence that I know
I’m coming in with the miles and
experience to do well.”
This level of dedication has
extended beyond the seniors
to the underclassmen, who are
waiting to become the new senior
class.
“We’re thankful the seniors
got this experience,” Flanagan
said. “Us younger guys are excited
to send them out on this note.
Everybody knew what it was
going to take. Everybody focused
on our individual goals. And then
we filled our individual roles.
Next year we’ll have new roles.”
And together, they filled the
role of champions.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Mason Ferlic earned a second-place finish in the Big Ten Championships.
Marody enjoying
fast start for ‘M’
The lifelong
Michigan fan has
fit right in for the
Wolverines
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
Cooper Marody didn’t blow
out the candles on his 10th
birthday cake in a Chuck E.
Cheese’s, or even in his own
home.
Instead, he elected to have his
birthday party at Yost Ice Arena
— a choice that, in retrospect,
seems to have foreshadowed the
path his hockey career would
follow.
Now a freshman forward
for the Michigan hockey team,
Marody has played every game
for the Wolverines, tallying
three goals and four assists.
His early-season performance
has catapulted him to first
on the team in scoring, along
with fellow freshman forward
Kyle Connor. The duo is also
tied ninth nationally among
freshmen in points per game.
And Marody has shown that
regardless of class ranking,
he has ice in his veins and the
determination of a veteran.
As
the
Wolverines
found
themselves tied against then-
No. 18 Union on away ice,
Marody was the one to give
Michigan its first lead of the
game by simply hustling to the
puck off a deflection faster than
his defender. He finished the
chance cooly.
“He’s brought it, I give him
credit,” said Michigan coach
Red Berenson. “He showed up
to the first practice like he was
ready for this. You only get one
chance to make a good first
impression, and he’s done that.”
Though Marody is excelling
for the Wolverines, his path to
Yost was unconventional and
riddled with adversity.
The freshman was never a
highly touted recruit. He was
cut from his high school varsity
team as a freshman. And just
a year ago, he struggled in the
United States Hockey League
as a member of the Muskegon
Lumberjacks.
But
when
Marody
was
traded to the
Sioux
Falls
Stampede,
Berenson
watched
the kid who
committed
to him as a
17-year-old
transform into
a
different
player.
Marody finished 11th overall
in USHL scoring with 58 points,
49 of which came in the 38 games
he played with the Stampede.
As if that wasn’t enough, he
put an exclamation point on his
breakout season by leading Sioux
Falls to the Western Conference
regular-season title and the 2015
Clark Cup championship.
And
while
Marody
is
headlining Michigan’s highest-
scoring line (which has tallied
17 points), his prior trials and
tribulations
have
kept
him
humbled.
“I don’t mind being the
underdog, and it (has) been like
that my whole career,” Marody
said. “I’m just looking to prove
the people right that always
believed in me, and Michigan
always believed in me. That’s
why I’ve had good success so
far, because they all believed in
me and gave me a shot, and I’m
working hard to earn that.”
Earning
this
opportunity
has been a lifelong dream for
Marody, who is a Brighton,
Mich., native. His father, Patrick,
raised his son as a Wolverine
fan. His childhood fandom is
one of the reasons Marody chose
Yost for a birthday celebration
over more conventional options
as a third grader.
Being
exposed
to
the
Michigan hockey culture for
such an extended period of time
fostered
an
appreciation
for
the
position he’s
in.
“You
don’t
really
know
what
to
expect
exactly, how
your
game
is going to
acclimate to
the college level,” Marody said.
“But I think I just try to do the
little things and work hard. …
I grew up a diehard Michigan
fan. I think it takes my passion
to a whole (new) level when I
put on that jersey, and I think
that’s propelled me to have such
a confident start.”
Now, with that confidence,
Marody is blowing his coaches’
and teammates’ expectations
away — just like those candles
nine years ago.
Berenson and his staff never
anticipated
the
immediate
impact Marody is having. They
recognized the talent was there,
but they also anticipated that
the freshman would experience
some collegiate-level growing
pains
—
a
prediction
that
Marody ensured wouldn’t come
true.
“He was in shape, he was
confident,” Berenson said. “He
has competed hard and he has
listened. He’s doing all of the
things that we’re telling our
team to do. And it’s working.”
ICE HOCKEY
“You only get
once chance to
make a good first
impression.”