"Supergirl" - Premiere

   The premiere of Supergirl is no surprise to many, since the pilot was "leaked" online several months ago - a sign of how confident the network was that it had a potential winner.

   I saw it for the first time tonight, and I agree - they do have a success story here (at least so far).

   The series stars the lovely and extremely likable Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El (Danvers), the cousin of Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent - and Superman.

   As we see in flashback, she's sent to Earth to protect baby Kal-El, but spends decades in suspended animation and arrives on Earth after Superman is already grown and established. He's never seen clearly (and presumably will only be part of the series from a distance), but we meet her adopted family and see that she's established herself working for media mogul Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), a powerful (and borderline psycho) publisher.

   The supporting cast is quickly established, and a disaster strikes that forces Kara to stop hiding her powers and puts her in the spotlight - as Supergirl.

   What makes the show work is the fact that all the characters are interesting, the series has a strong sense of humor working for it, and there's a positive, uplifting spirit at work. But it's not all fluff - there's a serious danger facing Kara and her adopted city.

   You'll also find some Easter Eggs in there (bonus points for identifying the actors playing her adopted parents), some solid special effects work and strong action sequences.

   But the real secret of its success lies with Benoist - she's very much the girl next door - sweet, funny, adorable and sexy (without ever trying).

   It's off to a strong start, and well worth watching! And it should shut up those who say female super-heroes don't work.

Grade: A-

------------------------