SERIES PREMIERE: This is the fifth in Netflix’s ambitious series of superhero stories built around characters from the Marvel Comics universe. The series themselves have been uneven, with Charlie Cox in
Daredevil and Krysten Ritter in
Jessica Jones being impressive and engrossing additions to the genre. Mike Colter in
Luke Cage was a somewhat distant third, as these Marvel/Netflix series go, and Finn Jones as
Iron Fist was such a sad also-ran, so poorly written and acted, it should have been called
Tin Fish. But now those four superheroes are grouped together (eventually, because it takes several episodes for them to meet and trust one another) in a fifth series,
The Defenders, the first season of which is dropped today on Netflix. Sigourney Weaver is the new villain of this arc, and established characters from other series, particularly the ones from
Daredevil, make strong contributions to this new series. But if you’re new to this batch of heroes and TV series, put
The Defenders on hold and watch
Jessica Jones and
Daredevil first. Their characters (pictured), and those actors, are the best things about this new series, so get to know them a bit.
For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower. For my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website.