...in a Flash.
Yes, I'll take the easy jokes, too. While The Flash as a character has been a staple in DC's animated works over the decades, he's not been as visible in live action. He did feature in a short-lived 1990 TV series starring John Wesley Shipp as the title character, but otherwise, he's been absent from flesh-and-blood portrayals. However, after a successful re-invigoration in the comics ("Rebirth"), Barry Allen was introduced as a guest star on the CW's Arrow TV series with an eye towards a spin-off. That spin-off has just completed it's first season, with greater impact and popularity than the show that launched it, and has brought the Flash back into popular conscience.
 |
| Promotional poster, peppered with little comics nods throughout |
One quick word of warning: as this is a review of the season as a whole, spoilers may appear.
Not to mince words, I love this show. It's one of the very few programs which I feel an inclination to watch as close to real-time as I can, without 'getting around to it' via the DVR. It's got an engaging cast, on-point scripts, energetic plotting, and above all, a refreshingly unapologetic stance towards its source material, which a lot of DC's recent live-action works have been sorely lacking. This show knows it's a comic-book superhero show, and embraces it. It doesn't shy away from the fantastical elements, but rather, does its best to make them coherent in a relatively plausible way. Characters wear costumes, use 'code names' (the assignment of which is an ongoing gag with each new arrival), and there is a clear sense of enjoyment...even the shows' darker moments tend to be largely free from angst.
After DC got a little too cavalier with its properties in the late '90s, they shifted towards the darker, more realistic and serious tone in its adaptations, as most exemplified by the Dark Knight Trilogy. While this may work for Batman, it generally doesn't for DC's other main heroes. So it's a wonderful change of pace to see Flash moving back in a direction of the sense of joy, of wonder, of fantasy and potential that has been DC's hallmark in the comics for so long. This has the side effect of making Arrow look even more dour; Arrow is by no means a bad show, but every cross-over they do just makes Flash look more fun by comparison. With the recent announcements of a new DC series, Legends of Tomorrow, which is also set in this same universe, and Supergirl, whose connection to this universe is as of yet unclear, it seems that DC may finally be learning how to let their characters be who they're supposed to be. On television, at least.
 |
| Panabaker, Martin, Patton, Gustin & Cavanagh |
 |
| Grant Gustin as The Flash |
The supporting cast is more than able - and like all CW shows, is extremely attractive. Carlos Valdes and Danielle Panabaker play Barry's scientific support staff, Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow. Comics fans will recognize those names, no doubt, and we've already been given hints as to their future destinies as Vibe and Killer Frost, respectively. Both characters are smart and funny; they're both quirky and rather nerdy, but likeable and relatable. It will be interesting to see their alternate identities emerge over time, even if Caitlin's arc is likely to be tragic.
Jesse L. Martin is once again a badge-wielder, this time as Joe West, Barry's adoptive father (this series follows the post-Rebirth continuity, with Barry's mother dead and his father imprisoned for her murder, which forms the focus of the main plot of the first season). Martin is charismatic as always, and brings real gravitas to the series. Candice Patton plays Iris West, Joe's daughter, and Barry's sort-of sister, sort-of love interest. If there is a weak point on the show, it's Iris, but that's less of a performance issue than it is a scripting one, with Iris suffering from being shoehorned into the whiny girlfriend with trust issues trope on the one hand, who's kept in the dark about what's going on by essentially the entire cast, for most of the season. As a result, that makes Iris come across as oblivious and needy, a problem which is made worse by the curious decision to have her only reciprocate Barry's interest in her when he's moved on to someone else. Fortunately, by the end of the season these problems seem to have been addressed; we'll see how it moves forward. Part of Iris' plotline revolves around Eddie Thawne, played by a curiously Jack Bauer-like Rick Cosnett, her father's partner and Iris' boyfriend, whose function on the show is to vary between Third-Point-in-a-Love-Triangle and Red Herring. As Cosnett will not be a series regular next year, though, that will probably alter the show's approach.
 |
| Tom Cavanagh as The Reverse-Flash |
Perhaps the most fascinating character on the show is Dr. Harrison Wells, played by Tom Cavanagh, who serves as Barry's mentor and the man responsible for 'accidentally' unleashing chaos on Central City. What we discover, though, is that Wells is actually Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, Barry's destined arch-enemy, who's working off of an agenda only really made clear at the end of the season. Cavanagh's performance is fantastic, as the audience learns more and more of what he's up to while the other characters remain in the dark. He's both kindly and sinister, sometimes simultaneously, and Cavanagh's interesting style of delivery gives much of his dialogue deeper meaning. He manages to be convincing as both a cold-blooded killer and a concerned father figure. Speaking of villains, Wentworth Miller is a recurring guest star, playing Captain Cold, another of the Flash's classic foes. Miller appears to be having a ball with his character, and I suspect the writers enjoy having him around as well, as he's going to be among the core cast of the Legends spin-off.
There's some wonderful referential casting as well. John Wesley Shipp, star of the original Flash series, has a recurring role as Henry Allen, Barry's father. Amanda Pays also appears in a few episodes as Dr. Tina McGee - the same character she played on the original series. And in yet another return performance, Mark Hamill is back as the original Trickster, just as nutty as ever, but now with a young protege. Stephen Amell, star of Arrow, makes a few guest appearances, as to several members of his recurring cast, and Amell's cousin Robbie is a frequent guest star as well as Ronnie Raymond, half of the hero Firestorm (Victor Garber plays Martin Stein, the other half.) We've also season any number of classic and modern villains appearing - Heatwave, Captain Boomerang, Pied Piper, Weather Wizard, Rainbow Raider, Golden Glider, General Eiling, Peek-a-Boo, Deathbolt, The Mist, Girder, Everyman, Blackout, Multiplex, Simon Stagg...even the Bug-Eyed Bandit. They're all referred to by both real name and their more colorful comics handles, though nothing, but nothing, beats the fact that the series has successfully introduced Gorilla Grodd into live action television. That alone just makes me delighted.
 |
| I could just go ape...even bananas...with bad puns here, but I won't. I'll just say: Oh my Grodd! |
The show's color palette is bright and sunny, and even with the show's in-plot tragedy of a catastrophic explosion one year in the past which has caused a great deal of fallout over the succeeding months, there's still a sense that this is a nice place to live. I have to imagine that a good portion of the show's budget has to go into special effects, for they manage to come across sharp, clean, and highly effective, from the Speed Force elements to manifestations of Firestorm's powers or the blasts from Captain Cold's cold gun. And did I mention Grodd? In general, we've come a long way from hokier CGI on network television, but there's still clearly a lot of effort being made to keep Flash looking good.
The writing is generally excellent, with the characters being evenly balanced and clearly conceived; even minor characters are given development. The pacing is excellent; the show manages to maintain the same level of energy from start to finish. The writers do a great job explaining many of the scientific (or pseudo-science) concepts they'd like viewers to comprehend; anything that tries to explain time travel has its work cut out for it, but this show even manages to discuss the different ways time travel has worked across other popular media. The series does suffer a bit of birthing pain...the first few episodes seem to be trying to establish a tone while figuring out what that tone should be, but quickly gets it right and holds it for the rest of the season. As mentioned, there are some issues regarding Iris' character, and the series seemed to have some problems figuring out what to do with Eddie as time went on. And while I understand the need and logic of building a shared universe, the frequent crossovers and appearances of characters from Arrow can be distracting or even unnecessary. While a crossover once or twice a season is fine, I'd like to see Flash be more reliant on its own world and characters in its second year.
All in all, this show has been a ton of fun so far, and I sincerely hope they're able to maintain the level of energy and spirit they've shown so far. The shows creators have already promised more for next season, including that most core of DC Comics plot devices: the Multiverse. Indeed, the season cliffhanger has Barry disappearing into a time travel-caused wormhole, and one can only imagine the potential for alternate realities, pasts, and futures that may be headed our way, potentially opening up the entire DCU. As debut seasons go, Flash has been highly on the mark, so we can only hope they manage to keep up the pace to a winning streak.
I'll stop with the stupid puns now.
FINAL RATING: 9 PAWS (OUT OF 10)
No comments:
Post a Comment