REVIEW: THE FLASH TV SERIES

THE FLASH TV Series just came out on dvd. I've been slooowwwly making my way through the 6-disc set. When it was originally broadcast in 1990, I watched it here and there. It wasn't the greatest show by any means, but I was still semi-high from Tim Burton's BATMAN release - wow, comics done in live action could be decent! All I remembered was it was a Batman-movie ripoff, the Flash looked kinda cool although too bulky, and
Mark Hamill showed up as the Trickster twice, in a fun embarrassing performance.

Well, revisiting this puppy in 2006 is quite the experience. I forgot how god awful early 90s television was - its like early 80s tv but with a splash of Arsenio style. Woo-woo-woo!! Anyway, this show is something else. First off, the musical score is done by Danny Elfman, so it sounds very very much like Tim Burton's Batman and Batman: The Animated Series. The look of Central City is like a bad hybrid of TB's Gotham meets 80s TV Los Angeles. Notice that pink lighting is everywhere, even in the prisons! And the show itself, is like TB's Batman meets Dick Tracy movie meets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 - so basically, it feels like what I'd imagine Tim Burton would do Today if he made a Flash movie. Zing!!!!.

The acting is really bad and embarrassing at times. Alot of that blame goes to the poor writing, but its really odd since it has such a stellar cast. So far I've seen the Terri Cenobite chick from Hellraiser III, the leading lady in both Leviathon & Max Headroom, Dr Simms from Nightmare on Elms St 3, the token black dreadlock dude from PCU, Richard Belzer, Jack Deth from the Trancers movies, the old lady from 227, the war vet from Gremlins and Admiral Morrow from Star Trek III. And so far I'm just on disc 1!! Imagine what's in store for me next! But the real star goes to the main guy, John Wesley Shipp aka Barry "The Flash" Allen himself. I'm without words - you'll just have to experience his master thesbian for yourself.

The Pilot is pretty much unwatchable, so skip it. All you need to know is in the opening titles. The first normal episode is great and features not only a mutant man-dog, but an incredible Hulk/Toxic Avenger rip off beating up homeless kids. Brilliant.Yeah, so this show is terrible.... yet I can't stop watching it!! Despite all its many many many flaws, it still has something fun about it. It doesn't have that quirky brilliance the 60s Batman And Robin TV show had, but it has its own character. It's like a 1940s cheezie comic, crime story happening on the Universal City themepark City-Set, in 1990. It's definitely a product of its Time, and 16 years later, its kind of fun to revisit that era.... and be thankful its over! heheh. SO, if you're a FLASH fan, or fan of fun cheezie superhero shows, give it a whirl. Just remember to keep a big grin throughout.... and skip that Pilot episode!!!

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Additional fact I never knew: They made Flash tv-movies; Flash II: Revenge of the Trickster and Flash III: Deadly Nightshade.