Mon 28 Sep 2015
A TV Review: THE FLASH “Pilot” (2014).
Posted by Steve under Comic Books, Cartoons, Comic Strips , Reviews , TV Science Fiction & Fantasy[11] Comments
THE FLASH. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1). The CW, 7 October 2014. Grant Gustin (Barry Allen / The Flash), Candice Patton (Iris West), Danielle Panabaker, Rick Cosnett, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin, John Wesley Shipp. Based on the character in DC Comics. Developed by Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg. David Nutter.
One episode isn’t enough to say, but after watching this first one on DVD, I was more impressed than I expected to be. I enjoyed this one. It was done well, and I will be watching to see what comes next.
If it devolves into a series of corny supervillains every week, that may end it for me, but at the moment, after stage one, there are a number of interesting plot threads this series has going for it already, and they were all crammed into one 45 minute episode. Amazing.
To enumerate: The Flash, or rather Barry Allen, is the fastest man alive. As a young forensic crime scene assistant, he obtains this ability through an explosion of a particle accelerator at S.T.A.R. Labs, after awakening from a coma lasting nine months. (Any significance to that?)
Some background: his father is in prison, having been convicted of killing his mother when he was a small boy. The father (John Wesley Shipp, the previous TV Flash) is innocent. Young Barry grew up with a police detective named Joe West and his daughter Iris. He may be in love with her now, but she now has a secret romance with her father’s partner on the police force.
The head of S.T.A.R. Labs is in a wheelchair from the accident, but with two assistants he works with Barry, helping to gauge his powers, designing a suitable suit, and so on. Barry is determined to use his powers for good, which is a good thing, because other people affected by the accident have also become metahumans, and they have begun to use their powers in other ways, all bad.
The special effects are terrific, and the acting on the part of the very young (mid-20s?) actors (or am I just old) is adequate, if not more. I admit the overall ambiance is comicky, but maybe that’s just me. There is a quick scene at the end which suggests that there are other secrets yet to be revealed. Tune in next week! I think I will. (The DVD set already paid for.)
September 28th, 2015 at 10:31 pm
I like this series very much.
Have seen all the Season 1 episodes. Not on DVD – on the CW network.
It’s uneven, with some episodes much better than others.
As you say, they really keep the shows hopping with plot developments.
Thanks for a good review.
September 28th, 2015 at 10:54 pm
It’s also nice to see Jesse Martin reprising his role as a detective. I enjoyed him as Jerry Orbach’s partner on the original Law and Order
September 29th, 2015 at 7:56 am
My favorite episodes, with credits:
10-7-14 PILOT Created by & St: Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns Scr: Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns D: David Nutter
10-18-14 GOING ROGUE W: Geoff Johns & Kai Yu Wu D: Glen Winter
11-11-14 PLASTIQUE W: Aaron Helbing & Todd Helbing & Brooke Eikmeier D: Dermott Downs
12-2-14 FLASH VS. ARROW St: Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg Scr: Ben Sokolowski & Brooke Roberts D: Glen Winter
2- 3-15 CRAZY FOR YOU W: Aaron Helbing & Todd Helbing D: Rob Hardy
4-14-15 ALL STAR TEAM UP W: Grainne Godfree & Kai Yu Wu D: Kevin Tancharoen
4-21-15 WHO IS HARRISON WELLS? W: Ray Utarnachitt & Cortney Norris D: Wendey Stanzler
4-28-15 THE TRAP W: Alison Schapker & Brooke Eikmeier D: Steve Shill
5- 5-15 GRODD LIVES W: Grainne Godfree & Kai Yu Wu D: Dermott Downs
September 29th, 2015 at 10:12 am
keep watching. This is a really good show. in one episode Mark Hamill shows up playing the Trickster a part he played in two episodes of the early 90’s series.
September 29th, 2015 at 3:01 pm
John Wesley Shipp the original television Flash plays Barry’s father, and the setup pays off bigtime in the final episode of the season with more promised. Far from the villain of the week many of the bad guys have storylines that intersect with the main plot.
And promised for this season the Golden Age Mercury helmeted Flash is due to show up. It has only gotten better so far managing to be a nice balance to the darker more serious ARROW.
September 29th, 2015 at 4:57 pm
I haven’t tried watching ARROW. I’ve gotten the impression that it is, as you say, too dark and serious, at least for me. I stopped reading comic books when they stopped being fun. I enjoyed Green Arrow when I was a kid — all those specially designed arrows in one small quiver but each one tailor made for every situation that came along. But that quite a while ago, and when was that comics got dark and serious? Sometime in the 90s?
I’ll be give GOTHAM a trial sometime soon — the first season is out on DVD, and we have it here, but I haven’t found anything of interest in what I’ve seen of the current crop of TV shows based on characters from Marvel Comics.
September 29th, 2015 at 6:56 pm
ARROW is like everyone says: dark, too violent, grim.
It has some good supporting characters, like Felicity and Ray Palmer (The Atom), but its alleged “hero” is a Gloomy Gus.
GOTHAM ranges from the kinky to the sick. It isn’t boring, and the hero is likable. But then, he and Alfred the butler seem to be the only “normal” people in Gotham City.
You might want to consider renting GOTHAM instead of buying it…
I wish there were more super-hero tales like THE FLASH.
September 29th, 2015 at 8:22 pm
My problem with shows such as THE FLASH is how much it depends on outside sources.
Here is a spoiler full article on the background information of THE FLASH season 1. You may want to wait until you have seen the entire first season of THE FLASH before you read this.
http://www.denofgeek.us/books-comics/the-flash/249058/the-flash-season-1-complete-dc-comics-references-guide
September 29th, 2015 at 8:46 pm
If you like THE FLASH … CW’s DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW will premiere later this fall. I plan to sample it.
Watched GOTHAM’s first episode of its second season and found it had the same problem I had with it in Season One, more focused on easter eggs than story. Ooo, is he The Joker – ooo, I don’t care.
Tried Marvel’s AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. first episode of season three to find it has improved but still bores the heck out of me.
CW is trying to attract a wider audience so us old guys may find stuff there watchable. My current favorite is iZOMBIE and plan to give THE 100 another try.
September 29th, 2015 at 9:20 pm
Michael —
Geeky stuff like the met-references described in your comment #8 don’t bother me very much, as long as I’m enjoying the story. They’re bonuses for the real comic book fan, but they don’t mean a lot to me, one way or the other. It does look as though they know which way the story is gong, though, which is all to the good.
I’ve now watched episode two, and I enjoyed that one as well. On the other hand, for me, I don’t think the season set on DVD will be a keeper, though. Once and done, I imagine. I’ll never have the urge to watch it again — it’s in the same category as DOCTOR WHO, all eras of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, FRINGE (though I still have Season One), and a few others that don’t come to mind because I’ve forgotten them.
September 29th, 2015 at 10:47 pm
SHIELD got better and AGENT CARTER was fun, But FLASH is probably the most accessible of these for non comic book fans or classic comic book fans of the pre DARK KNIGHT era. Dark as it is ARROW has quite a bit going for it, but admittedly is not for anyone looking for the Adam West BATMAN or the comics of my generations youth. ARROW is actually borrowing some of the tropes and plot lines from the BATMAN comics darker periods particularly the who Ras Al Ghul storyline.
It was nice to see Brandon Routh of SUPERMAN RETURNS a regular as Ray Palmer the Atom last season and the cross overs with THE FLASH are a kick for old comics fans like me.
GOTHAM is bizarre at times but well acted all around with Sean Pertwee an outstanding Alfred and Jim Gordon a more complex character than we have been led to believe in the comics.
It has a basic problem though in that the hero cannot succeed until Bruce Wayne grows up and becomes Batman and when that happens the series is over. Therefore even though it can chart Gordon’s climb to the commissioners seat things can only get darker and more bizarre for Gotham. It is about the making of a hero and the events that lead to Gotham needing a hero as bizarre as Batman so anyone expecting to see clear cut triumphs of good over evil is in for a surprise.
Jim Gordon is the series hero, and the mythology is such that he cannot triumph or even fight evil to a standstill. His victories will continue to be small ones until Batman arrives on the scene which in this version would be years down the line. There is something serious being said along the lines of fighting dragons and becoming them.
The outstanding role in the series has been the young Penguin, well balanced between a dangerous sociopath and a tad over the top. He, his mother the great Carol Kane, Fish Mooney from Season One, Harvey Bullock, young Selena Kyle, Catwoman,and young Bruce Wayne are all standouts in the cast though managing to give the familiar characters depth.
That said, the show may be too dark for some viewers and too dependent on the comics mythology. This season is devoted to the bad guys with the young pre accident Joker and the Riddler on the rise and the Penguin now controlling crime in Gotham. The tone has been a bit over the top for the first two episodes of season two, but the scenes with young Bruce Wayne gradually discovering his true path with the help of Alfred, Gordon, and Lucius Fox have made up for it.
This is a series where the bad guys threw innocent people off a building to spell out their new team name, covered cheerleaders in gasoline and tried to set them afire in a school bus, and massacred an entire police station after beating the hero up in one episode however so be warned. Last season one character tore her own eye out. To say it isn’t Adam West is an understatement. Compared to GOTHAM SUPERNATURAL is a frothy fantasy.
This may not be comic books as you remember them so be warned. It has only gotten darker so far. FLASH on the other hand promises to stay true to the somewhat lighter tone of its hero while quietly setting up things for the eventual JUSTICE LEAGUE movie by introducing heroes and villains but within the yearly arc and not as the guest villain of the week. Any series that can pull off Gorilla Grodd without making me laugh deserves cudos, and this one actually made him scary.