Jess Bozeman, Campus Carrier Opinions Editor
Tuesday, Oct. 7, the CW premiered their new superhero show, “The Flash.” The show focuses on the DC Comics superhero by the same name whose main power is traveling at super speed.
The Flash’s alter ego, Barry Allen, works as a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department. After witnessing the murder of his mother at age 11 under mysterious circumstances and having his father arrested for the murder, Barry researches unexplained phenomena. Barry’s life is changed forever when a bolt of lightening from a failed science experiment hits him, knocking him into chemicals and changing him into the super-powered Flash.
The character Barry Allen, portrayed by former “Glee” actor Grant Gustin, first appeared in another CW television show, “Arrow,” in its second season. “Arrow” has now entered its third season, returning Oct. 8, the day after “The Flash” premiered. The “Arrow” episodes that Barry was featured in were originally going to act as a backdoor pilot to “The Flash” television show. However, after positive feedback of Barry’s character, “The Flash” was updated to include a full pilot.
As a self-acknowledged comic book nerd, I’ve been really excited about the number of superhero television shows coming this fall. These include the CW’s “Arrow,” Fox’s “Batman” prequel “Gotham” and NBC’s “Constantine,” which was partly filmed at Berry, along with other superhero shows that are still in the planning stages.
Unlike darker superhero shows like “Gotham” and “Arrow,” “The Flash” has a lighter feel. The pilot had a lot of smiles and laughs along with hidden surprises for all the comic book fans. Barry Allen has always been a comparatively lighter, more playful superhero in the comic books, and it’s really nice to see this carried into the television program, proving not all superhero shows have to be doom and gloom.
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Photo courtesy of CW |
Although it stayed pretty close to the comics in some ways, it was not weighed down by a heavy comic book mythos that could cause confusion and make the show too dependent on the comics. Even though it’s a spin-off, new viewers don’t have to watch “Arrow” to understand what is going on.
The pilot did a good job of quickly establishing characters and things we already knew were going to happen (Barry getting his powers and testing them out), so as not to be all exposition and explanation. The pilot had a solid, interesting storyline that showed viewers what they could hopefully expect from the rest of the season.
As expected, “The Flash” pilot contained many allusions to the comic books, including Flash facing off against a big villain from the comic books, The Weather Wizard. A few other comic book references in “The Flash” include a broken cage that appears to belong to comic book villain Gorilla Grodd, and several references to a main Flash antagonist The Reverse Flash or Zoom. The episode ends with a giant reference to a giant reference to a specific and widely popular comic book arc, which I won’t reveal, so new viewers don’t have it spoiled.
The pilot episode for “The Flash” was fun and added a new light-hearted tone to the series of current superhero television shows.
“The Flash” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.