BirdsofPreyOnline.com - Official Discussion of "Split"

Ted

11-20-2002, 08:39 PM

Is anyone else ultra-confused by that bad job of editing that just occurred in the episode? It went something like this :

1 - Daytime : Dinah, in a green shirt, chats with Darkstrike over coffee about the choices superheros make and whether she'll ever be like her mom;
2 - Nighttime : Huntress and Darkstrike go over the car in the impound lot, and then it cuts just as Helena seems about to say something;
3 - Daytime : Dinah, in the green shirt, exits the elevator in the tower with Darkstrike in tow, having most likely come from the upper level (where the kitchen is);
4 - Nighttime : Oracle discovers a clue and sends Huntress off to fight.

Wouldn't it make more sense if it went 1, 3, 2, 4? Huntress could've been getting a feed from Oracle on her comset that confused her or made her stop short? It seems like they totally cut the scenes apart. :-/

jinnyb

11-20-2002, 09:03 PM

it was originally suposse to be episode 4 so they had to edit it for story flow

bigguye7

11-20-2002, 09:14 PM

a decent enough episode,interesting to see a superhero suffer from a split personality.Would have been better if we could have gotten to know darkstrike a little better.Once again the whole thrust of the plot was to further huntress/reese relationship.Obviously the producers are stuck on this and once again barbra and dinah get short changed.
If you ask me I think the actor who played darkstrike would have made a better nightwing a.k.a dick grayson.He had the looks and charm of dick and it would have been neat to see the dick/barbra relationship from the comics done for the show.Ah well another missed chance to try something interesting.By the way great to see arkum asylum!
Final verdict:mild suspense,interesting surprise plot twist,fast pace,not a great episode but not the worst. I give it a B.

Sxygrrl Huntress

11-20-2002, 09:14 PM

I never seem to catch editing mistakes. Hmm... I'll have to watch that again.

What I did catch is WB showing next week's preview and said it would be a "full night event" so I guess they are still going ahead with 2 episodes that night.

Sounds odd to do that to a show that is said to be cancelled by everyone, but the WB... Makes you wonder...

As for tonight's episode, too much Reese again, but at least this time it was a little more believeable. Loved it when the phone rang in the alley and Oracle was calling him.

Can't say I was too impressed with the acting by the guy who played Darkstrike. Didn't sound too troubled about his fiancee's death to me. No pain in his voice...

How did Oracle figure out so quickly that Dinah saw a flash of Darkstrike when she touched the girl? And what happened to the girl? Is she *at* the hospital?

Harly Quinn is great. For any Xena fans out there, she is so much like Hudson Leick (Callisto)! Don't you agree?

Loved the look on her face when she found out it was Huntress. She was mad.... looking forward to the day she discovers that it's Helena. She's gotta discover it during a session...

Crossing my fingers that next week we are Reese free.....

Angie :)

gothambat

11-20-2002, 09:22 PM

i thought the episode was good i hope the show does not get caned and the trailer for next week seems good lets hope so just wanted to get my voice out

userlordj

11-20-2002, 09:23 PM

She is EXACTLY like Hudson Leick / Callisto, which is why I love her. I wonder why they never used Hudson Leick to play as Harely. I think Hudson Leick is definately the best actress. PERIOD.

LisaM

11-20-2002, 09:29 PM

Good episode but, once again, TOO MUCH emphasis on Huntress/Reese. Noticed that there was no Clocktower scene at the end - perhaps in response to the fans' disapproval. Instead, the scene took place indoors. My favorite scene was Oracle calling Reese.

I think that the trailer for next week looks good. I'll have to watch it again but it sure sounded as if Batman was going to be around. The sight of Batgirl's costume...FINALLY, a Barbara-centric episode!

Ted

11-20-2002, 09:32 PM

If you ask me, there were too many mistakes in this episode.

1) So none of the perps that Reese cuffs will ever tell anyone that he's got some weirdo chick in a long leather trenchcoat working with him in the streets and that he lets her beat up on them? Okay then. Wasn't she at least risking Reese's job by saying all this junk in front of them, such as the fact that she had to talk him out of shooting someone last week? Just too much of a slip-up in my mind.

2) Huh? Did anyone understand the Darkstrike story? Was it worth anything more than having Helena and Reese play some 'are we working together? are we an item? are you jealous of my apparent partner who will be gone next week anyway so it doesn't really matter?' games? I guess I just didn't get the whole "He watched his fiancee die, then he took on the identity of the murderer - but he also morphs into the murderer, because it's somehow beyond a pyschological problem" bit. How in the world did he end up morphing back and forth anyway? That's never been a symptom of split personalities that I've heard. How did Helena find out his real name - she called him John, right? How did she find out the entire story during a commercial break? Did she too see the Crawler in the mirror when Darkstrike was addressing him, and if so, how? They should have done a better job explaining all these things because it was too sloppy and there was no reason for Darkstrike to magically turn into the Crawler if they were trying to give him a form of psychosis.

I'll add more later, I've got some updating to do. I was incredibly disappointed by this episode and see no reason for it to have been in sweeps. I see no reason for it to have existed at all. I can't imagine ratings will improve for this episode, so I can't imagine this spells anything good for the show.

Ted

11-20-2002, 09:50 PM

3) Doesn't Harley now know that the woman she's after lives above the Dark Horse bar? That's really crucial information - it's her exact location.

4) What was up with Huntress' contrast-vision? Was there a point to that? Does it help her fight, because that's often when her eyes change, and I've never seen her do it at will like that, like it's an ability to turn on.

Sxygrrl Huntress

11-20-2002, 09:53 PM

Some of the fan fiction writers have been coming up with some pretty great stories - maybe they should write the scripts...

just a thought....

Ted

11-20-2002, 09:58 PM

5) Reese knows Helena works with someone. He always figured the voice in Helena's ear for a man. He sees a man dressed very very similarly to Huntress out in the night hunting with her, and Huntress tells her he's with her - why would he not trust Darkstrike? Wouldn't he assume Darkstrike is Helena's partner who's worked with her all along?

Something must have been cut because Helena suddenly knew Darkstrike's alter ego was John. Not to mention the episode stills of Dinah in the white at the microscope and the very telling still of Darkstrike in the Crawler's white asylum clothes, when those scenes did not appear in the episode.

I liked the line, 'And I'm nobody's bitch', though I didn't at all see the need for the seemingly endless 'This is part of her ponytail.' 'I'm supposed to use this?' 'Yes.' 'I don't work with half the evidence.' 'Use it. I need to test it too.' 'I don't trust your labs.' 'Too bad.' 'I don't trust you.' 'It's okay.' 'I don't work with half.' 'Oh well.' scene.

LisaM

11-20-2002, 09:58 PM

There is definitely no way that ratings will improve for this episode but, to be candid, any episode which was aired tonight would get killed by the finale of The Bachelor and the Victoria's Secret special. Guarantee that the ratings for West Wing and Fastlane also took a huge hit. Some articles estimated that The Bachelor would have 30 million viewers.

Empress Vader

11-20-2002, 10:01 PM

I wanted to like this episode, just sit back and enjoy whatever's left, but I have to say it's my least favorite episode.

Mr. Strikes after Dark was amusing (sometimes he was to "superhero's after school special" for me), but parts of the episode were entertaining. I enjoyed the more plot driven parts of the story, but the whole Helena/Reese story feels like it's making Helena a weaker character. He underrates and critisizes what she does and she keeps running back for more. I can deal with them being the central couple, but don't make Helena just take crap from him and come back smiling the next day. "We have to work together", uhh, no you don't, you obviously "want" to work together so stop pretending it's neccessary. The perp got away, your girl stops him, can I get a "thank you" ... Nope just more police procedure talk. Does Helena have a badge? I think not. But you keep calling her, so accept it or give back the batring (why is it the batring and not the birdring?) I'm not saying there relationship should be "easy", but it got to the Reese is just being an a$$ to be an a$$ point. There seems to be too much indecission on the Reese character. He jumps around and changes modes for no good reason, after last week he's gone right back to getting on Helena about the way she does things. He goes from one extreme to the other. I guess he was jealouse of dude in the shadows, that's why he suddenly decides Huntress can hit the perp as long as he approves it first. Reese came across really bad for me in this episode.

LisaM

11-20-2002, 10:03 PM

Since the WB is all about the "ship", I wonder if they are the ones who have pushed the Huntress/Reese relationship to the forefront of the show.

One thing I did like was finding out that Helena lives over the bar. Another piece of info like Reese finding out that the voice in Helena's ear is a woman's.

Sxygrrl Huntress

11-20-2002, 10:09 PM

You're right about the whole talk about the ponytail. Since when don't police use *any* bit of evidence they can find? Here he gets a big chunk of ponytail.... most police would get excited if they found a single blood drop.

And I also loved the "Nobody's bitch" line. The fight scenes were better in this episode. For once I could see that alot of it was actually Ashley and not a stunt person.

Hudson did audition and got very close to getting the part but obviously they give it to Mia Sara. But they are so alike it's scary.... or sexy.... ;)

Would Harly find out that Helena lives at the bar? She told that info to Darkstrike, not the alter ego. From what it seems, neither ego knows about the other. Darkstrike wouldn't have asked if he was the Crawler.

.:Mattness:.

11-20-2002, 10:18 PM

I liked this episode a lot. Not quite as much as "Sins of the Mother", of course. It had its flaws, naturally. But it wasn't bad. Here's what I made of it:

Like you guys have said, there was again too much Huntress/Reese crap in this episode. My God, those scenes are boring. I thought it was quite silly, the way Reese lets Huntress knock the criminals around. But oh well. I get tired of the cutesy-cute pun-filled flirt scenes between Huntress and Reese. Yes, conversations and character development is nice, but develop the other characters for a change, rather than have the same situations happen between Huntress and Reese every week.

Dinah was strangely underused in this episode. I suppose it's because it was originally going to air as Episode 4 that we didn't see some telekinesis or ass-kicking from her, but I was still a bit disappointed. Maybe next week... *higgles*

Mixed feelings about Darkstrike. I thought he was a bit cool, but the storyline involving his split personality was ridiculously confusing. I still don't think I understand it completely. The WB is in desperate need of some good writers. And some better bit actors, too. The girl that got kidnapped was just... laughably bad. XD

Harley Quinn got cooler. I wonder why she never visits The Joker at Arkham? She visits random villains that get hauled in, but never her Mr. J that she adores so much? I hope The Joker and some other familiar evil faces come into play sometime in the future (please no cancel please no cancel). And I'm still crossing my fingers, hoping that Harley will don the jester suit. *grins*

Overall, I wasn't as disappointed as I was pleased, although my thoughts was a mixture of the two feelings. Yet again, it just radiates the vibes of a filler episode, which we seem to get so much of. But next week looks like it has a LOT of potential, and perhaps with some heavy-duty advertising, the potential of seeing Batman will draw in some new viewers. We need to keep our chins up and take it as a good sign that The WB is still going through with its planned BoP events (a full-night special treatment for a show that the have cancelled wouldn't make a lot of sense).

Anyway, I liked the episode. I give it a 4/5.

Ivy

11-20-2002, 10:30 PM

Veering on the more optimistic side, I kinda liked the episode. By kinda, I mean liked. Not my absolute favorite, but they all can't be.

I missed the editing snafus, though I did wonder how Helena knew to call him John, and I did wonder about the super-instant reconstructive surgery [or morphing back and forth, if you prefer] ... but we wouldn't have wanted to edit the hair convo. Which didn't bug me as much as it seems to have bothered other people. Of course, I'm hopped up on cold medication, so I'm not the best judge of such things.
Wasn't bugged by the Helena focus this week and actually think that if people weren't oggling the half naked women on other channels, they might have enjoyed this episode. Stand alone with enough threads to others to make it interesting.

Curse you, WB!

Kea

11-20-2002, 10:39 PM

Well I liked it (not my fav but its a new ep so I am happy). A little too much Reese for me at times but I liked the idea of a spilt personality. And too much Huntress/Reese!
I found it interesting that the outside clock tower part was in doors.

We also learn what Helena's eye sight can do.
Where she lives. That she was 16 when she lost her mom.
Also we now know Harley knows where she lives.

Dinah helping out was cool. Also I really liked the fight scenes.
Also when Barbara called Reese that was just great. You think Reese finally understands that Helena is working with two other people by now? I mean he saw Dinah last time. And the way the bad guy looks when Helena mentions him almost shooting the bad guy. And Reese's comment about who picks these names was too funny.
It was a good story but I don't think they should have put it in the sweeps either. I mean it might have been done because of the bachelor or not. But the first time I saw it I thought the killer might have been a parasite and taken over Darkstrike's body but I guess he just had a spilt personality. You know if the WB is in need of good writers look around you. They should bring in fans of the show to talk about scripts and bring in fan fiction writers as well. Hey I'll happily volunteer! ;)
Stuff that was cut oh yeah.
You could tell that wen Helena was at the car impound she was just about to say something and it was cut. Also in closed captioning at the end. The bad guy tells Harley he knows where she lives. And Harley asks where.
Oh and can we please not fly around New gotham so much!

I find it very interesting that we suddenly have a lot of promotion. Not only a full night of BoP next week but its a possibly batman is back and looks to be a Barbara story. Cool. (Hope the ratings are good for that one).

Lance

11-20-2002, 11:02 PM

Gotta wait for the tape before I see this one and make any judgements, but I gather that a lot of viewers found fault with it. There could be a positive to that, though: if they had a bad one in the can, isn't better that they got it out of the way now, when EVERYTHING else gets killed by The Bachelor? They still have a week to do some tuning on 'Lady Shiva'. Or is that too much of a stretch?

Kea

11-20-2002, 11:10 PM

Lance you read my mind. I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if 'Lady Shiva' does well like 'Sins of the mother' what will the WB do then?

Ted

11-21-2002, 12:14 AM

SotM didn't do *that* well; it just skated above the episode right before it. I think a lot of people are hoping Shiva will do well but a thought just occurred to me - a lot of people may turn their backs when she gets up and walks. I think it could do some damage in that it will make people lose their admiration for the character in overcoming her challenges if she can just magically get up and walk around and fight at any time.

DizzyOracle

11-21-2002, 12:23 AM

Hell, i can't wait for Lady Shiva. Darn, the preview at the end of Split looked amazing! Whee. Ok, I liked Split. I feel that the thing going on between Huntress and Reese is getting better. I loved the whole jealousy thing going on. There were some great one-liners in this ep too. I also liked the part where Reese makes fun of Darkstrike: "Darkstrike? What kind of name is that?" Helena: "He strikes after dark. I think it's very descriptive." This cracked me up. I also liked how the ep ended. It was very cute. I can't believe I'm saying this, seeing as how i found reese really annoying in the past, but I hope that the chemistry between the two of them stays like this. I enjoyed seeing them "fight" each other. I didn't even mind not seeing Oracle or Dinah much. Dinah was kinda funny. I think she's good comic relief. Overall, i'm satisfied with this ep. I think the writing as definitely improved. Very much looking forward to Lady Shiva.

nwgurl

11-21-2002, 11:49 AM

Th episode had it's flaws but I liked the whole psycho killer guy part compared to the metahuman weaklings. They could have written and shot the scenes better though.

Venus E

11-21-2002, 12:02 PM

Not my favorite eppy, sorry.

The guy that played Darkstrike seriously needs to take acting lessons.

Aside from that the eppy was ok. I like the whole split personality premise. I also liked Reese's remarks regarding the whole vigilante-code-name-dresscode thing.

It could have been a great episode, but it had some flaws.

Catwoman101

11-21-2002, 01:15 PM

Not a bad episode. Not my favorite but it had few good things about it that I liked.

The fight scenes were done much better. I liked the way Helena was handling those guys in the beginning.

Finally we discover where Helena lives. Now if only we could get a peek inside.

The scene where Helena is at Darstrikes hotel room in the dark and she used her night vision to see was cool. They should focus more on her powers individually.

Normally I can't stand Reese but his acting wasn't that bad this time.

The characters lines have improved a bit. I loved when Helena said, "I'm nobody's bitch."

The scene with Reese on the phone with Barbara was a nice touch and my favorite scene.

I didn't like Darkstrike at all. The crawler was a creepy guy. This actor is always playing a serial killer.

The best part was at the very end when they showed next weeks episode. Finally we get to see Batgirl in action and I don't mean in a flashback. This show needs more Barbara. Also Helena gets a chance to see Batgirl in action for the first time. I think this is important because Helena would know how great Barbara was an active crimefighter and not just a computer nerd. I can't wait for next week. I also think that Lady Shiva will have less of Reese. It's mostly a Barbara episode.

magicman

11-21-2002, 02:52 PM

Continuing on a downward spiral. The show was doomed from the start. It's sad, really. It could have been mush better. Let me explain:

1. Batman and Catwoman had a daugther who turns out to have superpowers when both her parents didn't. Not logical. Tough sell.

2. Where the hell did metahumans come from, or are they just DC's name for mutants? I know it was explained in an earlier episode, but COME ON!

3. Writing, writing, writing! That's why Smallville's such a huge hit. The series has an element of reality to it. This, sadly, doesn't.

4. Current episode, "Split." So, did Darkstrike have a secret power to morph into other people that Oracle (ar anybody else for that matter) didn't know about. AND, said ability automatically applied to clothing (Darkstrike's black longcoat into Crawler's duster)????

As, I said, terribly sad. The writers and producers should all be taken out and flogged. The show deserves everything that's coming to it.

Heather

11-21-2002, 03:13 PM

I thought it was an okay episode. My favorite part was at the end, when Helena and Reese were talking. When she says, are you together or something like that. and then he saida really bad blind date. She smiled and it was kind of in slow motion. I liked that part, I don't know why though.

I also like the part will Barbara talking to Reese.:D Over all I give this episode a B-(this was my least favorite episode.)

Neuf

11-21-2002, 04:55 PM

I REALLY hate to say this but this wasn't one of their best episodes. I think the actors did the best they could with a lame script and aren't the ones to blame.

I thought the episode started off really well but then it went downhill at the 1/2 way mark. And the ending...terrible. It's like they spent too much time with unnecessary scenes and were left with 5 minutes to solve everything. I thought the ending was too rushed. And the editing wasn't all that great either. Again, I blame the writers for this one, not the actors. They could have had a really good episode and they ruined it.

And what's with them having Dinah do the "hey, watcha talking about" kind thing all the time??? I'm not a big Dinah fan but it's almost like they're making her beg to help out.

All that said, I'm not surprised by the low ratings for "Split." But I REALLY hope they've pulled out everything they've got for "Lady Shiva" next week. The promo didn't do much for me which is disappointing because if I were someone unfamiliar with the show and saw that I probably wouldn't be impressed either. This is also the WB's chance to promote the hell out of the show since they're airing the premiere before LS. Whether they decide to do that or not remains to be seen...and heard.

And one more note....can someone PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make Reese stop asking Helena why she "does that" (popping up out of nowhere). Why can't the guy just get used to it and move on with things. I think the show needs stronger writers.

photoego

11-21-2002, 11:59 PM

I just watched the episode (as well as rewatched Sins of the Mother) a nd it was a mediocre outing...reminded me of how I felt when I watched the " Bug Boy" episode of SMALLVILLE..*sigh*

The problem with this show is the writing..no escaping this fact. The previous two episodes were good....next weeks i am hoping will be great..i was actually doing the "hell yeah" when I saw the possibility of BATMAN and then Barbara in her BATGIRL costume...I think yhis Wednesday will be pivotal for any hope..if there is one..for this show.

The acting is there...the feel of the characters interaction is there...

As for "Dark"...what the hell is up with this ordinary guy with big ears, bad acting, and (did I imagine) the country boy tone to his voice? He did not look like a hero.

Oy vay! :)

Dark Knight

11-22-2002, 08:34 AM

I'll try a positive spin instead of ripping the show and its plots - subplots - conceit. First of all it is a beautifully produced (visually) show. Secondly and up to and including this episode, the action sequences surely and most certainly take a great precedence over editing and story flow. True... character development is shallow and leaves one wondering...however that is the general mood with these things even in comic book form. You are to suspend disbelief a little to get you to the meat of the story. I think we have the showdown between the Huntress and Harley coming soon. I'm just enjoying the ride there and trying not to bash the scenery outside the window too much along the way.

Evil is so much more interesting - don't you agree? - Dr. Quinzel