I don’t know anything about the Green Arrow comics.  Literally, nothing.  All I had was an educated guess that he wears green and wields a bow.  This worked well for my first viewing of the Arrow pilot, because I was fascinated by the backstory.  The opening scene throws you in the middle of the action as a disheveled man in green is climbing about a rock island.  Even with the expository narration, it’s a thrilling way to launch a new series.

They pull back to reveal that the man in green is Oliver Queen (played by Stephen Amell), a billionaire playboy who shipwrecked five years ago and was presumed dead.  Oliver’s awkward attempts to reintegrate with his former life are intercut with flashbacks to the night of the shipwreck.  Unfortunately, as Arrow drifts away from the island and spends more time in the city, the show loses its luster.  Hit the jump for the rest of the brief review and a recap of the Q&A with stars Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy as well as producers Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and David Nutter.

Here are some Game of Thrones updates that don’t include George W. Bush’s head – HBO has released a list of the writers, directors and shooting locations for the show’s third season.

Sadly, Alan Taylor will be out of the mix for directing the upcoming season (which will be based on the first half of the third and potentially best book so far of the novel series, A Storm of Swords). Taylor, who directed some of the most memorable episodes of Thrones so far (including the final two episodes of the first season and a slew of great episodes this past season) will be busy shooting Thor 2 (bless him), which means that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will take the helm directing in his absence. For more on who is returning to Westeros next year, hit the jump.

If you enjoyed the first clip from the CW’s super-heroic series, Arrow, you’re probably going to love the full trailer.  While the clip featured star Stephen Amell putting all of us men-folk to shame with his uber-athletic portrayal of Oliver Queen, the trailer does a better job at setting up the origin of the titular character, Green Arrow.  I was surprised and delighted when Paul Blackthorne (The Dresden Files) featured heavily in the trailer as a resident cop eager to hunt down the vigilante.  I also thought, lest my eyes deceive me, that I caught a brief cameo from Smallville star, Kristin Kreuk, but perhaps viewers can confirm/correct me in the comment section.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer [and sneak preview] for Arrow, coming to the small screen Wednesday evenings this fall on the CW.