Geeks will enjoy ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ TV show, but newbies should steer clear

There's a line in the pilot episode of Legends of Tomorrow in which the time-traveling Rip Hunter (played by Arthur Darvill, who has previously time-traveled in Doctor Who) tells a collection of superheroes, "I'm from East London. Oh, and the future." It's the sort of line and delivery that will evoke a groan from the sorts of people who hate science fiction.

That line follows a scene in which Hunter is pleading with a council of fellow Time Masters to let him alter time "just this once" in order to stop an evil man who lives forever from conquering the planet in the year 2166.

Legends doesn't try to make comic book stories "real" like the recent Batman movie trilogy did.

It knows what it is and it's willing to embrace the cheesy, offbeat elements that its genre sometimes calls for. If you haven't already bought into ideas like telepathic gorillas, a reincarnated Egyptian priestess and alternate universes, this show isn't for you.

But Legends of Tomorrow isn't really attempting to attract a new audience. As a mid-season spin-off of Arrow and The Flash, Legends is going directly after the people who already watch those shows. In fact, while you might be able to enjoy the action and the spectacle of this show without having watched the ones that came before, attempting to do so will lead to confusion. None of the individual characters are really introduced or explained, and the first threads of this story are first found in the Flash episode "Legends of Today" and the Arrow episode "Legends of Yesterday," which serve as two parts of the same arc.

If you're all caught up with those other DC Comics shows then you're ready for Legends of Tomorrow. But is it worth your time?

Yes and no. Right from the start, Legends feels like the most insignificant of the DC shows, despite the heroes being on a mission to literally save the future. While Barry Allen and Oliver Queen often cross paths on their respective shows, the pilot episode of Legends feels like a goodbye to these characters from the primary storyline. As Arrow's Laurel tells her sister Sara (Legends' heroine White Canary) that she should leave and join a new team of crime fighters, she might as well be saying, "Go try to be popular on your own. We don't need you on Arrow for awhile."

So if you're starting to get superhero fatigue (and even as a fan of these shows, I wouldn't blame you) and need to decide which shows to cut, first impressions indicate that Legends can be the first to go.

That said, there might be fun to have if you stick around.

Legends tries to take all the high-stakes, high-octane antics of the Flash/Arrow crossover episodes and turn them into a full show. Sometimes it works. There are battle sequences in the first two episodes full of CG laser blasts, explosions, flying heroes and comic book-esque quips. The variety of superpowers at the disposal of this team could lead to even more enjoyable action, which could hold the attention of those who are just in it for the spectacle.

If you're watching for the character development things are a bit dicier, as a large cast means less time to focus on individual characters. In the first two episodes, though, we do get a bit of a glimpse into the past of Firestorm's more scientific half, Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber), thanks to a trip back to 1975. The time-altering, "be careful not to screw up your own past" plot doesn't exactly break new ground and on occasion feels like a shallow spin-off of Back to the Future, but it does at least give us some time to get to know one of the characters better.

Ray Palmer/Atom (Brandon Routh) ends up being one of the more relatable heroes so far, as he's not in this adventure for the thrill so much as he is worried that his life up to this point hasn't amounted to much. He comes to the realization that while most of the world thought he was dead (see: Arrow) nothing really changed. All his money and accomplishments didn't make the mark on the world that he wanted to make.

On a more microscopic level, there are plenty of short character moments that will please those who like these people already. On the aforementioned trip to 1975, the less-than-genius Heatwave (Dominic Purcell) stares at a TV and asks, "Why does this stupid station play nothing but re-runs?"

And then there's Wenworth Miller as Captain Cold, who continues to be brilliant in that role no matter what show he's on.

If the writers and producers of Legends can keep the show fresh through multiple time periods and consistent action, this could be an entertaining addition to your TV lineup. But I can't help but feel that it would have fared better if it had debuted when Flash and Arrow were on break, say, during the summer. As yet another super-powered show to squeeze into your week (an even tougher challenge if you're also watching Supergirl on CBS), it's hard to consider these particular heroes as anything other than the B-team, whether they're Legends or not.