TV Review: Stargirl Season 1 Episode 5

Stargirl Season 1 Episode 5 “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite”

Director: Michael Nankin

Starring: Brec Bassinger, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Cameron Gellman, Trae Romano, Jake Austin Walker, Christopher James Baker, Amy Smart, Luke Wilson, Neil Jackson

Rating: TV-PG

Runtime: 45 minutes

The recruiting the new JSA storyline is at the forefront again and unfortunately, as with “Wildcat”, the focus results in an episode that’s rather dull and clumsily executed throughout, even if again there are some good character moments here and there.  Overall “Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite” is a better episode than its immediate predecessor but not by much and the problems with both of them raise concerns about the show’s quality going forward, given that the new JSA seems set to be a core element.

As the title implies, episode 5 adds two new members to Courtney’s team with Rick and Beth both accepting the call to heroism.  Sort of.  Rick only takes the JSA gig for assistance in getting personal vengeance and Beth forces her way into the group instead of being invited.  Beth continues to be an awkward character and I’m never sure if we’re supposed to find her struggle with being considered a weirdo sympathetic or if she’s supposed to be a fully comedic character.  None of which is a critique against Anjelika Washington, who consistently gives the kind of extremely peppy, hyper-verbal performance the material calls for.  The fault instead lies with the writers, who themselves can’t seem to decide if we should genuinely be rooting for Beth or alternate between being amused and annoyed by her.  The obvious loneliness she feels as she struggles to separate herself for her parents and find friends among her peers makes her somewhat likable, as do moments when Courtney and Yolanda barely disguise their discomfort with her, but some of the choices the character makes, like talking her way into Courtney’s house and then going through her stuff until she finds Dr. Mid-Nite’s goggles, guaranteeing herself at least some association with the burgeoning JSA, and much of her dialogue comes across as pushy and even borderline delusional.

Rick’s backstory is full of more familiar material for the superhero genre but it works better regardless.  The episode opens with a flashback to when Rick was a little boy.  After writing a letter to Pat explaining his suspicions that the ISA is in Blue Valley Rick’s dad, Rex Tyler, the original Hourman (Lou Ferigno Jr.) and his mom, Wendi (Kristin Brock), leave him in the care of Wendi’s brother, Matt (Adam Aalderks), before having to leave town in fear for their lives.  They don’t get far before Solomon Grundy catches up with them, slamming their car into a tree, killing them.  Unaware of the true nature of his parents’ deaths and having suffered abuse from Matt in the intervening years present-day Rick is, understandably, an angsty loner.  He comes close to making a connection with Pat while helping with his stalled car but quickly pulls back and goes off on his own.  However, the brief encounter was long enough for Pat to become suspicious of the boy’s true identity (Rick uses Matt’s last name, Harris) and for Hourman’s hourglass, which Courtney has with her in her not-really-inconspicuous gym bag full of JSA equipment to glow and point towards him, indicating a connection.  Pat and Courtney both set out to investigate the mysterious young man but Courtney’s quest for answers is much shorter, with Mid-Nite’s goggles, which are complete with an AI of the original Mid-Nite, Charles McNider (Henry Thomas), inform her and Beth who Rick Harris really is.

Courtney, Beth, and Yolanda track Rick to Cindy’s Halloween party, where he’s delivering kegs.  This sequence has its strengths, like Yolanda refusing to go inside, Beth’s awkward attempts at mingling, or Courtney having to wear an oversized Gremlins mask she takes from a vomiting boy to get around the party unnoticed (Brec Bassinger’s resigned body language in these scenes is a subtle comedic delight) but ultimately it’s another example of the show not committing to its coming of age themes enough.  Attending a bully’s party is a staple plot of young adult fiction for a reason, as the opportunities for conflict and tension are rich.  But Stargirl doesn’t take advantage of them as much as it could.  Yes, things like Henry and Cindy’s fight and the latter’s subsequent awkward encounter with Yolanda are interesting beats but the fact that Courtney and company successfully weave in and out of the party without any social consequences is a waste.  It’s yet another instance of the show prioritizing the superhero plots over the high school ones when the two elements should be of more equal importance.

Still, the team’s outing isn’t a complete success, at least initially, as instead of signing up to join the new JSA Rick takes the hourglass for himself, seemingly with the goal of using his newfound super-strength to get payback on his uncle.  He stops short of attacking Matt, instead simply crushing his car but still seems to be headed on a path of self-destruction (and possibly other types) before the team manages to talk him down.  In a visually striking scene, Mid-Nite’s goggles display a holographic recreation of Grundy’s attack on the Tylers which at least allows Rick to channel his rage at a more specific target, the ISA.  Still, he’s not volunteering to be a superhero long-term or doing so out of any sense of altruism.  In another moment of fairly blunt scripting he reminds Courtney that he’s not out for justice, he wants revenge.  Cameron Gelman gives a solid performance throughout and Rick’s story is arguably the most successful superhero origin out of the JSA recruits as, unlike Beth or Yolanda, his development can be intrinsically tied to his conduct as Hourman.  Still, the low-key, minimal spectacle in the episode stops his debut from being as satisfying as it could be, just like it did Yolanda’s.

While the characters it highlights, or at least two out of the three of them, are compelling, this team assembly storyline has been pretty disappointing overall, and the other material that has surrounded it has been more miss than hit.  It’s a good sign that the episode ends with Pat finding the Green Lantern in Courtney’s room as hopefully, that indicates that the show will get back to focusing on what it does best, which is charting the growth of their relationship.

Notes:

•  While following Courtney and Yolanda, Beth has an odd encounter with the school janitor (Mark Ashworth), hinting that the show will replicate the character’s colorful story from Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.
• The graphics the Mid-Nite goggles display are full of Easter Eggs, not all of which I could catch.  I did see that they describe the JSA as dating back to the ’40s as it does in the comics.