- Series Title: Naomi
- Season: Season 1
- Episodes: 13
- Discs: 3 (Blu-Ray)
- Network: CW
- Cast: Kaci Walfall, Mary-Charles Jones, Cranston Johnson, Alexander Wraith, Daniel Puig, Camila Moreno, Will Meyers, Aiden Gemme, Mouzam Makkar, Barry Watson
- Format: Color, Widescreen, NTSC, R1
I loved the comic book mini-series, Naomi, from DC Comics so I was excited to see this series. I watched a few episodes live last Winter but found it slow-moving and decided to wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray season set. Watching the season set, I still found the pacing to be very, very slow. However, the series grows on you. The first season of Naomi does remind me very much of the first season of Stargirl in that both have a young woman who suddenly discovers she’s different, she has powers. But as Courtney grows up and forms a teenaged superhero team around herself – Naomi’s story is more complex and much darker once it gets moving.
Naomi is an Ace student – she gets good grades, she’s popular, and she runs a Superman website for the Superman comics. She likes Superman because they are both adopted. As Naomi soon discovers, that’s not the only thing they have in common. Naomi is also from another planet and she’s just starting to discover that and learn about her powers. She’s helped by Dee, an exiled Thanagarian soldier, and later by Zumbago and Akira refugees from her home planet. Slowly, Naomi learns about her powers and discovers her history.
On her planet, there was a meteor strike. The strike did two things – it gave some people powers and it led to a devastating environmental crisis. Only 29 people received powers but for the most part they tried to use their powers to help others. However, a dictator arose who not only used his power to control the people of the planet but he blamed the 29 for the environmental crisis, eventually tracking them down. and imprisoning or killing them. Many of the 29 escaped including Akira and Zumbago. It turns out that Naomi’s birth parents were betrayed and didn’t escape but they handed over Naomi to her adoptive parents to rescue and keep safe. The three ended-up on Earth.
I liked the relationship between Naomi and her friends which is also slow-burn. Annabelle is her best friend and she’s awesome. She’s fiercely loyal to Naomi and willing to do anything to help her friend. She’s also the first to learn about Naomi having powers and being an alien. Anthony is a town boy who has a crush on Naomi. Naomi first dates Nathan then breaks up with him, then they get back together, then they sort of break-up. It’s very high school. I’m totally shipping Naomi and Anthony though. Jacob is Annabelle’s geeky boyfriend. And Lourdes runs the local comics shop, having dropped out of school to care for her father. The group of Annabelle, Jacob, Nathan, Anthony, and Lourdes balances the show. The best parts of the series have the six teenagers trying to do something or figure something out (though it’s rarely all six at once).
The final episode includes a shocking revelation about Naomi’s parents.
This series really deserves a second season. Yes, it was slow-moving which didn’t help, but often the first season of a show is a bit slow as the writers and characters find their feet. A second season would have the prep work done and could get right in to the middle of the story. Ending the series after a single season leaves the audience hanging. Still, Season 1 is recommended.
Bitch with Wi-fi 