The Flash - season 1 (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

To my surprise, I really enjoyed the pilot. I and I got totally sucked in and was all but cheering when Barry ran circles around the tornado. I know, all it needed was an 80s power ballad to be an utter cliche, but it loved it.And I enjoyed the gadget nerd. He's so enthusiastic!The pilot promises a joy and heart I haven't seen since "Chuck", which I could use in my TV viewing.

 

[Matt Hough]

Episode was just fine, but I hope this is the ONLY one we get where he doubts his mission and abilities. It seemed like 1/3 of the first season of Arrow had the title character doubting his mission and quitting only to have to be talked into taking it up again. I certainly don't want to go through that again with The Flash.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Still stuffing way too much exposition into characters' mouths. This episode had a strong whiff of the old network note: "retell the pilot".The two most interesting parts for me are the strained relationship of Barry and Joe, who was a good guardian in every way except the crucial one of not believing Barry about his father, and what exactly Harrison Wells is up to.

 

[Walter Kittel]

What is Wells up to? Enjoyed the second episode a bit more. I always enjoy the small touches on shows - like Barry being a human centrifuge. Very clever.

Not sure that an individual who could clone himself could come up with the mass for the number of clones portrayed, or that he could magically clone his clothes, but it doesn't pay to examine those elements too critically.

- Walter.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

I enjoyed it. I would liked to have seen more of Barry and the villains interacting and more character development for the villain of the week. There's a lot going on each episode, between Barry, Iris, Joe, Wells, the STAR Labs crew, Barry's Dad and the villain, that the villain doesn't get as much screen time as I would like. I do like the pacing and tone of the series. I also like those small touches. Oh and I wish Barry would keep his mask on more when in costume, it annoyed me when they did it in the Spider-man movies and it annoys me here too.

 

[Sam Favate]

I liked it, but I do think the show is getting off to a slow start (no pun intended). The problem is that it is so much like Arrow. I feel like I know exactly what's going to happen and which character will say what before it happens, simply because the characters all have counterparts on Arrow who serve similar functions.

 

[Patrick Sun]

You still have to lay some groundwork on who cares for who, and who's got some nasty ulterior motives, so it's only the 2nd episode, it's progressing fine. I was hoping they would address the need for caloric intake to be able to run so fast. Wonder how they'll incorporate "time limit" of his power exertion levels into the conflicts a-brewing, even with increase food intake.

 

[derosa]

Having the Particle Accelerator be the cause of Barry and the other meta-humans' powers is too reminiscent of the meteor freak of the week aspect of Smallville. I guess it beats having to do an origin for every villain every week. Other than that, I really liked it.

I liked the first two episodes too, but part way through I had the same thought.
is this going to be "freak of the week" for the entire series? That would surely seem
too derivative of many Smallville plots and get boring.

 

[Sam Favate]

This seems stupid to me:
‘The Flash’ Movie to Star Ezra Miller, Out in 2018

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni57874585

It's said the movie will be unaffiliated with the new TV series. Huh? Why? Do they have so little faith in the TV show? Do they expect it to have run its course by 2018? Are they trying to compete with themselves?

Everything that comes down the line says that - compared to the people behind Marvel Studios - the Warner execs have no idea what they're doing.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

I read Warners considers its movie universe separate from the TV one. Why risk a potentially successful series for a movie when they could have both. They did the same thing with Superman Returns and Smallville.

 

[Carabimero]

If I was writing for either the TV show or the movie, I'd breathe a sigh of relief that the left arm wouldn't have to worry about what the right arm is doing. It's hard enough making good TV, and good movies, without being hamstrung by continuity. Having said that, there is always the exception.

As far as episode 2, I thought it was an improvement over the pilot.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Considering how much DC loves its multiverse style of storytelling, having a cinematic DC universe totally different from its TV DC universe is not much of a stretch. Enjoy each universe on its own terms.

 

[Jason_V]

I liked the first two episodes too, but part way through I had the same thought.
is this going to be "freak of the week" for the entire series? That would surely seem
too derivative of many Smallville plots and get boring.

To be fair, early Arrow episodes were all about the "freak of the week" until they really got into the mythology. Same thing with SHIELD. Again, episode 2...let's not write the show off yet.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Nice interview with executive producer Andrew Kreisberg:http://www.tvguide.com/News/Flash-Andrew-Kreisberg-1087856.aspxAbout the "freak of the week" aspect, he had this to say:

The destruction of the S.T.A.R. Labs and the creation of the meta-humans is the great engine for the series, but we have Captain Cold coming up and we have Heatwave and we have the Pied Piper, who are all human villains with superior technology. It's not going to be monster-of-the-week. Sometimes it's villains who have technology. We already have some villains who are going to be recurring throughout the course of the season and I think, like Arrow, there's always the case-of-the-week to drive it, but there's the ongoing mysteries and relationships. And the mysteries that come up in subsequent episodes, that haven't even been alluded to in the pilot, that we will pick up. Certainly we have the mystery of Firestorm, Robbie Amell's character, and what happened to him the night the accelerator exploded.

 

[Sean Bryan]

This seems stupid to me: ‘The Flash’ Movie to Star Ezra Miller, Out in 2018 http://www.imdb.com/news/ni57874585 It's said the movie will be unaffiliated with the new TV series. Huh? Why? Do they have so little faith in the TV show? Do they expect it to have run its course by 2018? Are they trying to compete with themselves? Everything that comes down the line says that - compared to the people behind Marvel Studios - the Warner execs have no idea what they're doing.

Personally, I'd prefer one universe that bridges movies and television. I understand that it is much more difficult to pull that off, but having things connected is part of the appeal (at least for me). For some, there's a feeling like the movies "count" while a TV show is just a "TV show". So WB's choice to have their TV universe completely separate from their film universe is disappointing. To go a step further, from things I've read I don't think that their TV universe is even meant to be one continuity. Shows on the same network may be connected (like The Flash and Arrow), but I believe Gotham and Constantine are both their own separate things. It's like if every comic published by a particular house is a standalone, alternate reality one shot. You can still get some really cool stories from them, but it loses the charm of being part of a particular "universe". As for this show, I've been enjoying The Flash so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing it grow into its own thing.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The converse is that what if I don't feel like I want to watch 4 DC-related comic book shows a week to "keep up" with their wide-spanning continuity? I totally got burnt out with the incessant company-wide crossover events that drove both DC and Marvel comic book marketing plans to boost comic book sales across the line for the past 2 decades to the point I don't even buy Marvel comics anymore, and only a smattering of DC titles (and that list is getting chopped down even further soon). I got so tired of Marvel and DC editorial staff "writing" and dictating what events needed to happen in all the crossover comic titles at the expense of what their writers were building up to with their individual storylines in each title. So I don't really need to have all these TV comic-based TV shows to be inter-connected. Just entertain me on a weekly basis, and if there's the minor crossover event with Arrow and the Flash, I'll stomach it for that week, but not for an entire season. Just my 2 centavos.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I understand your point, but I don't think there really needs to be much (if any) actual story crossover. Just being part of the same universe with the occasional tip of the hat to acknowledge that is enough.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I can see that, but I've said before, given DC's propensity for multi-verse storytelling, these DC Comics-based shows having separate universes isn't so shocking, either.

 

[Hanson]

Smallville moment if the night: the Flash can dodge bullets, but 5 guys beating on him with fists and feet? INESCAPABLE. Who writes this shit?

 

[Matt Hough]

Yep, I thought of that while I was watching. I shouted at the screen, "Get out of there!"