Holy cow, that was the best thing the CW has ever given me for my birthday.
This is everything I'd want a Flash show to be. There are some changes to the mythos -- the particle accelerator being the source of most or all of the super powers in the area -- but I'm okay with that. It gives the show some unity, and asks us to believe one unbelievable thing instead of asking us to believe a new unbelievable thing every week. I think it's a smart approach.
Grant Gustin is perfect as Barry -- younger than when I'd first encountered the character, but with so much heart and good humor. I'm stunned at how well he inhabits the part.
I'm most concerned about Thawne's inclusion -- I hope they don't rush through that, putting the prime suspect for his mother's murder right up front. And, frankly, I think growing up with Iris is makes that relationship a little odd, too... and ultimately she might not be the one he ends up with because of that dynamic. (I don't think they plan for that not to happen, but it might be that the show finds itself unable to surmount the squick factor and decides to go another way.)
But I love the cast, the supporting characters (especially at the lab) are great, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes! For me, this is head and shoulders above Gotham -- even after this week's ridiculous Balloon Man episode, where I'm finally starting to enjoy it for the cheese it brings to the table.
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I liked it a lot, too. And I love the casting of John Wesley Shipp (the previous TV Flash) as Barry's father. I had heard about that, but it was still really cool to see.
Rob Staeger said:
There are some changes to the mythos -- the particle accelerator being the source of most or all of the super powers in the area -- but I'm okay with that. It gives the show some unity, and asks us to believe one unbelievable thing instead of asking us to believe a new unbelievable thing every week. I think it's a smart approach.
I also like the idea of the particle accelerator causing a super-people, and that they didn't have to all be implausibly gathered together to have it happen.
Grant Gustin is perfect as Barry -- younger than when I'd first encountered the character, but with so much heart and good humor. I'm stunned at how well he inhabits the part.
Gustin didn't seem very robust to me in his Arrow debut last season. I agree he's now very convincing in The Flash.
I'm most concerned about Thawne's inclusion -- I hope they don't rush through that, putting the prime suspect for his mother's murder right up front. And, frankly, I think growing up with Iris is makes that relationship a little odd, too... and ultimately she might not be the one he ends up with because of that dynamic. (I don't think they plan for that not to happen, but it might be that the show finds itself unable to surmount the squick factor and decides to go another way.)
I was surpised that they let us glimpse Reverse-Flash in the first episode in the flashback to her murder. It was interesting that they have Thawne as a cop. His moving in on Iris while Barry was in his coma sounds like something the bad guy from the future would do. Barry really seems to have romantic feelings toward Iris, though she seems oblivious to it. I don't think it's icky in that they aren't siblings or even half-siblings. According to the dialogue they started out as best friends.
But I love the cast, the supporting characters (especially at the lab) are great, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes! For me, this is head and shoulders above Gotham -- even after this week's ridiculous Balloon Man episode, where I'm finally starting to enjoy it for the cheese it brings to the table.
The Star Labs characters are well-defined and well-played. I also enjoyed seeing John Wesley Shipp. Jesse L. Martin as Iris' father had a lot to do and was able to show us more than he could on Law & Order. I really like The Flash and I really like Gotham.
Does it bother anyone that Iris went from a reporter to a waitress? Yes I know she's younger and reporting is so "Lois Lane" but it does seem to diminish her as a character. Now she's the girl Barry can't tell anything to and she can't be part of his new world unless he breaks his promise or has to.
First episode and FOUR people know that Barry is the Flash! That's got to be a record!
Weird that Arrow takes place in a city with no one with powers and The Flash takes place in a city that does and they're relatively nearby!
But I did enjoy the show and look forward to more Rogues and more mystery.
That's odd Iris got demoted. Marvel has been doing the opposite, turning Sue Storm (model) and Jane Foster (nurse) into scientists. Of course not telling Iris is comic book canon.
Seemed like someone found out Peter Parker was Spider-Man in every other episode of the Nicholas Hammond series.
Weird that the guy with the powers just happens to be in the city that does and the guy with the bow and arrows is in the one that doesn't. Obviously they want the tone of the shows to be different, but maybe at some point there'll be an in story reason for why people with powers are drawn to one place and people without the other.
The powers have already been explained in-story. The super-villains got their powers at the same time the Flash got his, due to the particle accelerator malfunction. There's only been the weather guy so far, but they showed a GPS map with dispersion all over the city. So presumably there will be more, and the Star Labs team had already coined the term "metahuman," so presumably they either already knew or suspected the effect. It's a different explanation than the comics, but it's an efficient one. No need for every new villain to have an elaborate origin story.
Sounds like they're getting rid of origin stories. Supposedly the Dr. Strange movie won't have one either. Thought the Weather Wizard didn't have powers, they came from some wand he built.
Doesn't mean there will be no origin stories, but most of them won't need to be elaborate. I don't remember them ever calling this guy the Weather Wizard, either, so it's not a direct reference to the comics. I don't expect this show to stay any closer to the comics than Smallville or Arrow.
I finally got around to watching this yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed it for the most part.
The overly-expository dialogue where every character has to say exactly what they're thinking and feeling at all times does get a little annoying, as do some of the teen/ YA soap opera dramatics, but those qualities both seem to be a part of the network-mandated CW "house-style", so I guess we're stuck with them. If I can learn to live with them on Arrow, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, I guess I can learn to live with them here as well.
However, with the exception of those minor nitpicks, everything else worked for me -- a likeable lead; some strong acting from the supporting cast; some good jokes; and some fairly solid special effects -- it all made for a pretty enjoyable hour of television. I'll definitely be sticking around for the rest of the season, which is something I can't say about Gotham at this point.
Origins in comics used to take a couple of pages. Electro's took less than a page and a half. The problem is they're making it a big deal in movies when it should just be a flashback sequence.
Maybe that will lead to the return of thought balloons and captions in comics.
I loved Flash as well, just for the exuberance. Having Barry be a young nerd is actually quite charming, and it actually fits with the comics, in that Barry read comics and liked science enough to make it a profession. He was never played as a classic nerd in the comics, but it was a pretty negative stereotype in 1956!
Also, Philip, Arrow mentioned in the Flash premiere that Central City is 600 miles from Starling City. That's not as far as Seattle is from Chicago (1,700 miles), but it's still not what I'd call "nearby."
Philip Portelli said:
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