year: 2016
For me Powers had anything I would want in a super heroes show and then some. But of course like with many of the shows that are underrated it got cancelled.
Just in case you never heard of the show I want to make absolutely clear that Powers is very good. Unfortunately Sony Playstation did a poor job marketing and promoting it. First of all they wanted the show to be their first Playstation Original undoubtedly to compete with Netflix. However even for people owning a playstation 3 or 4 console it was hard to find. Apparently it also was streamed on Crackle. What is that? Can you eat that? Imagine if you did not even know of it's existence. (How can you be motivated or compelled to watch a show if you are not aware it exists? I am dumbfounded by the decision of Sony to have this released on the Playstation platform and Crackle but then also neglected to tell people about it. They should have just produced the show and then have it sold sell to Netflix, HBO or CW or whatever popular cable network or streaming service (other than their own) they would feel comfortable collaborating with. That way the show would have at least gotten noticed and the interest and appeal to Playstation Original shows would have increased considerably. First you have to lure in people instead of assuming. It's one thing to be careless but to make such a bad business decision is beyond me. What is more infuriating that Sony still want their own streaming service to happen. Yeah, good luck with that. Anyway back to Powers.
Season 2 was a vast improvement on the first season. And the first season was fantastic. It only suffered from some pacing issues and some unlikeable characters. But most of these characters redeem themselves in the second season. The writing was also a lot better and tighter. While I am not familiar with the comic book I do appreciate the fact that this show goes where no other show or superhero film has gone before. Or at least not to the extent Powers does. Like for example the exploration of super heroes getting out of control so badly that they themselves are the ones that should be feared. The whole X-Men franchise is based on that but to my recollection not one of the live action films have been able to properly deal with this topic. Naturally this show can't escape the familiar tropes because it's what most people find appealing. Just enough super hero antics to keep everyone happy. A lot of films and shows forget how important that element is. If you aren't going to show super heroes doing good things how am I going to be affected if the same heroes do bad things? The distinction needs to be present and shown. Powers does this very effectively.
Walker formerly known as Diamond is the genuine article. Powers or not when you need him the most he is there doing whatever he can. Sharlto Copley remains brilliant as the hero who is having a real hard time dealing with not having powers anymore. He is a very flawed character but immensely likeable one since he is exactly the kind of hero you want having your back. His partner can be annoying sometimes with her eyes rolling all the time but she grew on me. It was nice to see Michael Madsen having an important role again and I hope this means we will see more of him in other productions. Olesya Rulin as the new Retro Girl is also a character you root for since we know where she is coming from. In Powers most of the characters actually have to deal with the consequences of previous events. Nothing is left to chance or unexplained. I love that kind of detail.
Powers deserved far better treatment and it really could have been a contender. Do be aware to watch the after credits scenes of all the episodes since they often do reveal the good stuff. Especially the one in the finale. But now we will never know what they had in store for us. Damn you Sony!
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