CW’s The Flash – Episode 1 – Review

With The Flash, The CW has another great show on their hand.  Spinning off of The CW’s already hit show Arrow, The Flash is looking incredibly promising.

The pilot episode was very engaging, and had my attention the whole time. I found myself actually liking all the characters that are involved, both primary and supporting, which is odd, because I rarely like supporting characters. Grant Gustin makes Barry Allen/The Flash a very believable character, who is determined to get all the information on every different level of science imaginable.

I also really enjoyed Tom Cavanagh, who plays Harrison Wells in the show, as the Chief Scientist and mentor to Barry Allen. Of course the big reveal at the end of the episode, left my jaw dropped.

I have always been a Die Hard Green Lantern fan, and The Flash was his best friend in the comics, which made me learn and enjoy that charcter. The 1990’s show with John Wesley Shipp as The Flash was great, but I do think this will make that show look very dated.

CW’s Official description of the show.

“Barry Allen was just 11 years old when his mother was killed in a bizarre and terrifying incident and his father was falsely convicted of the murder. With his life changed forever by the tragedy, Barry was taken in and raised by Detective Joe West, the father of Barry’s best friend, Iris. Now, Barry has become a brilliant, driven and endearingly geeky CSI investigator, whose determination to uncover the truth about his mother’s strange death leads him to follow up on every unexplained urban legend and scientific advancement that comes along. Barry’s latest obsession is a cutting edge particle accelerator, created by visionary physicist Harrison Wells and his S.T.A.R. Labs team, who claim that this invention will bring about unimaginable advancements in power and medicine. However, something goes horribly wrong during the public unveiling, and when the devastating explosion causes a freak storm, many lives are lost and Barry is struck by lightning. After nine months in a coma, Barry awakens to find his life has changed once again – the accident has given him the power of super speed, granting him the ability to move through Central City like an unseen guardian angel. Though initially excited by his new found powers, Barry is shocked to discover he is not the only “meta-human” who was created in the wake of the accelerator explosion – and not everyone is using their new powers for good. In the months since the accident, the city has seen a sharp increase in missing people, unexplained deaths and other strange phenomena. Barry now has a renewed purpose – using his gift of speed to protect the innocent, while never giving up on his quest to solve his mother’s murder and clear his father’s name. For now, only a few close friends and associates know that Barry is literally the fastest man alive, but it won’t be long before the world learns what Barry Allen has become…The Flash.”

I get a feeling from watching this show that all of the Flash’s Rogues Gallery will be getting a very modern twist to them.  Already they have put in so many easter eggs with shout outs to the characters. It’s reminding me of the early seasons of Smallville (which is a good thing).

I can’t wait till next week to ride the lightning again.