Directed by Mario Azzopardi, Bruce Bilson, Danny Bilson, and Gus Trikonis
So I'm on a DC kick, in case it's been hard to tell, so I've started watching the Flash show from the early 90s. I didn't even know this show existed until recently either! I was doing research about what other DC moving pictures there are besides the movies listed on DC's website and heard about this show.
If you like Batman: The Animated Series then in my opinion there's a good chance you'll enjoy this show. If 90s Batman was live action it would look a lot like The Flash. It's got that near perpetual nighttime like Batman, and that crazy lighting that looks awesome and dramatic when animated but a little cheap in real life...
Time period of the show seems very confused, mixing a lot of art deco, vehicles with 40s/50s aesthetics, and cell phones, sort of similarly to Batman!
Speaking of even more Batman similarities, the music for The Flash done by the same person as the 1992 cartoon, Shirley Walker. You can so clearly hear it in their opening themes:
Writing for The Flash needs a little work too. There's a lot of 'awkward situations', but their repetitiveness makes them trite only a few episodes in. For example, in one episode we see Barry Allen (The Flash) offering an old school acquaintance, now homeless, a job to help him out. The man turns Barry down, Barry pursues, leading to the guy eventually giving in without real closure to the scene. Besides that the scene went on too long and made Barry feel awkward for bringing bags of groceries and a job opportunity down to the sort of Hooverville. In another episode an old professor is in town because a priceless mask is going to be on display in Central City's museum but there are 6 suspects out to steal it. Barry (who is a police officer) tells his professor, Ted, after the briefing that he's asked for special permission to be posted at the museum. The old man tells him unkindly that it's not necessary. Then Barry jokingly says "Yeah, besides it's been years since I've been to the museum." Again, an unkind reply comes from Ted. "Why's that?" he asks flatly. There's little bits of awkward silence between lines too. It feels just a little too much like Barry's continuously thinking "Geez, everyone! I'm just trying to help", kind of like in New Frontier Barry made an impromptu appearance on the news as the Flash after the government tried to catch him to study him and he was all like 'I've only ever tried to help you guys! Why they try to catch me to dissect me >:O ?! Respect, people, respect!'
Just so many of those 'I was only trying to help' moments...
Anyway so the pilot/2 hourish premier was fun, and darker than most people probably think The Flash's story is. I'd even venture to say the pilot could have been a movie.
The Flash is also a character whose mystery gets explained. What I mean is, you clearly see how The Flash got his powers, the side effects, the emotional toll, ect. Lots of super characters are just shrouded in mysteries that are never brought to light, but not The Flash.
For example, how does Edward get Bella pregnant if vampires aren't supposed to have flowing blood? He couldn't have a boner without flowing blood... right? So thank you The Flash for addressing factors so you aren't horrible. DC seems to have a good track record of explaining those kinds of things.
I'm only several episodes in, but like I said, the series is fun thus far.
If you're a person who can enjoy a show in spite of phenomenal acting, believable sets, and substantial content, then give The Flash a try. Similarly to how people can enjoy B movies in spite of uncountable shortcomings, this is a show that at least has a high entertainment value for me.
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