The Flash: The Original Series Blu-ray Review
1990’s “The Flash” doesn’t compare to the 2014 series.
Clearly inspired by the success of 1989’s “Batman,” 1990’s The Flash” was a CBS DC series that lasted a single 22 episode season. Much like the CW series, the story revolves around Barry Allen- a forensic scientist working with the Central City Police who develops super speed powers after a lightning strike/chemical spill. With his newfound powers, he becomes a vigilante hero to avenge his brother, stop villainous foes (like The Trickster, Captain Cold, The Ghost, Mirror Master), and crack down on mobster activities, thieves and injustices. Key characters such as fellow scientists Julio and Tina also have their own storylines. Tina is a love interest for Barry (and one of the few who knows his secret identity) alongside PI Megan Lockhart. Viewers can expect to see other plots involving Barry’s father Henry, drugs, a toxin, murders, a gang, time travel, The Deadly Nightshade, a Barry clone, and android assassins.
Before the popular CW DC TV universe existed, the original “The Flash” was one of the few shows based on DC Comics. It didn’t exactly light the world on fire, however, and was short-lived. While John Wesley Shipp makes a charming lead as Barry Allen/The Flash, the Danny Bilson and Paul de Meo created series is too hokey for its own good.
“The Flash” starts off promising enough with an engrossing pilot episode which is easily the best episode, but alas, the show never lived up to the pilot. Granted, there are some fun notable guest stars like Mark Hamill as The Trickster, Bryan Cranston, Jeri Ryan, Bill Mumy, and Jeffrey Combs, but the sheries was hampered by poor scripts, cornball one-liners, cartoon sound effects, some atrocious acting by lead characters (not naming names), and special effects that are not so special. Sure, they may have been impressive for the time, but the technology simply wasn’t there yet to make The Flash seem convincing. Additionally, as noted above, the series tries way too hard to mimic “Batman” ‘89 even though the two universes couldn’t be more different. Central City shouldn’t be like Gotham City nor should the score sound like Danny Elfman’s “Batman” score. What makes this even more perplexing is the fact that “The Flash” comes off as a bit campy all while trying to be darker like “Batman.” The two tones do not mix.
“The Flash” does deserve credit for attempting to bring this DC Comic character to the TV screen, but the series doesn’t quite work. On the plus side, John Wesley Shipp was able to reprise his role in 2014’s “The Flash” and really got to explore the character in a more significant fashion.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.33:1 1080p. How does it look? The transfers feature 4K scans of the original camera negative. Most of the time the episodes look superb, but the special effects (which were done on video) look rough even in hi-def.
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The 2.0 track is crisp and clean.
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