Supergirl, Season 1 (2015)

Everyone knows the story of how Kal-El of Krypton was sent as a baby from his dying homeworld to Earth, where he was adopted by Ma and Pa Kent and went on to become the renowned hero, Superman.

What most people don't know is that his 13-year old cousin Kara Zor-El was also sent to Earth to be Kal-El's protector until he grew up.  This is because her ship was knocked off course, and spend over many years in the timeless expanse known as the "Phantom Zone".  When the still 13-year old finally did arrive on Earth, Kal-El was a grown man and not in need of protection.

A decade later, Kara "Danvers" is the personal assistant to media mogul Cat Grant, trying to find a way to fit into the world as a normal person, without using her powers.  But when her adopted sister's plane experiences engine failure and begins to crash, Kara's powers are the only solution available to her.

Immediately dubbed "Supergirl" by Cat Grant, Kara decides that the time has come to embrace her Kryptonian powers and follow in her cousin's footsteps as a costumed hero with a mild-mannered alter-ego.  And she's made that decision not a moment too soon, because when her ship escaped the Phantom Zone, it drew a prison full of alien criminals with it: criminals who have escaped and now threaten the planet.  (Good job they waited a decade to get up to much!)

I never watched Supergirl season 1 when it came out, because I had thoroughly disliked the trailer, but people kept giving it positive reviews - plus in later seasons it started to crossover with the other Arrowverse shows every year - so I finally decided to give it a try.

Sorry to buck the comics nerd love-in, but I didn't particularly like it.  It does have positive elements: the main cast are solid (though I think Melissa Benoist is a better Kara Danvers than Supergirl), and I can see potential for the show, but many elements of the execution left me cold.  The extended "Kara isn't ready to be a hero" plotline was very tiresome; characters often seemed to flip-flop in attitudes for inorganic "well, the story needs to go in X direction now" reasons; Cat Grant - though well performed by Callista Flockhart - is an awful human being we're apparently supposed to like; and they did horrible things to Lois Lane's dad, for which I will never forgive them.

A friend described this season of the show as clumsy but charming.  I think he was half right!