By CHRIS PUNTO
Columnist
Long have the days passed when we as a culture had to set aside 30 minutes to an hour on a specific day to catch up on our favorite shows, just to be disappointed when the episode ended and we feel empty for a whole week. Now we can stream shows whenever and wherever we want. Well, if you are like me and you can’t wait to start a new show as soon as you finish your previous one, then I’m here to help by recommending my personal favorites.
This month’s recommendation goes to my favorite show that is still currently running: “Arrow.”
“Arrow” follows the journey of Oliver Queen, who gets a rude awakening from his playboy-style life when his father’s ship goes down and he is forced to survive on a deserted island off the coast of China. Five years later, he returns to his city to save it from all the organized crime and destruction that poisons the streets.
Now, you really could have gotten that description from IMDb, but let me tell you why I personally like it. As a nerd, which most of you by now should know that I am, I love this show because it follows the DC comic book hero Green Arrow. The story has been shifted and changed quite a bit from the original tales, but most people really won’t mind. This series is action-packed, witty and full of twists that throw everyone off guard. The first season is a bit like a soap opera with all the romantic strings everywhere, but if you can ignore that for the time being, the show eventually finds the right tone and becomes something great.
The style of the show is also pretty fun to watch. Each episode is comprised of what current-day Oliver is up to and flashbacks to what shipwrecked Oliver had to endure. Each episode’s flashbacks are usually shown in chronological order, meaning that in episode one, we see the emerald archer being marooned and almost every episode after that is showing the next part of the five years that he spent there. And since the show is still going, I myself have only seen his first two and a half years away from home.
The show does have a few flaws. They are easy to look past but you can’t help but ask yourself “really?” from time to time. Stephen Amell, who plays Oliver Queen, has some weird pauses in his speaking that make his speech seem kind of broken and overdramatic. Another problem is that there is too much irony. I don’t want to spoil it, but you’ll see what I mean if you watch the show.
So if you trust me at all as far as entertainment, watch just one episode of “Arrow” on Netflix. Odds are that you will get hooked by the intense action, the drama, or Amell’s abs if you are into that kind of thing.