The Flash (TV series)

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"Flash, The" redirects here. For the superhero, see The Flash. For other uses, see Flash (disambiguation).
The Flash

DVD Box Art for The Flash: The Complete Series from Warner Home Video.
Format Action
Science Fiction
Created by Danny Bilson
Paul De Meo
Starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen/The Flash
Amanda Pays as Dr. Tina McGee
Alex Désert as Julio Mendez
Notable Guest Stars:
Mark Hamill as James Jesse/The Trickster
Opening theme Danny Elfman
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 22
Production
Running time 45 minutes
(60 with commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Picture format 4:3 Standard
Original run September 20, 1990 – May 18, 1991
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Flash was a live action CBS television series from 1990-1991 that starred John Wesley Shipp as the superhero, The Flash, and co-starred Amanda Pays. The series was developed from the DC Comics characters by the writing team of Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, who called their company Pet Fly Productions, and composer Danny Elfman wrote the show’s title theme.[1][2][3]

Contents

[edit] Pilot

The series' pilot episode features an accident in which Central City Police forensic scientist Barry Allen's crime lab is struck by lightning. Allen's electrified body is flung into and shatters a cabinet of chemicals, which are both electrified and forced to interact with each other and with his physiology when they come into physical contact with his body. He soon discovers with the help of S.T.A.R. Labs scientist Tina McGee that the accident has changed his body's metabolism and as a result he has gained the ability to move at superhuman speed. To avenge the murder of his brother, motorcycle police officer Jay (named after the Golden Age Flash), Barry becomes The Flash. He demands that Tina modify a red S.T.A.R. Labs prototype deep sea diving suit, designed to withstand tremendous pressures, into his costume, to which she reluctantly complies. Thus, Barry Allen becomes The Flash.

[edit] Rogues Gallery and cancellation

Mark Hamill as The Trickster.
Mark Hamill as The Trickster.

The series initially had a dark and gritty tone, and focused on having The Flash confront decidedly human villains, like corrupt officials and mobsters. Midway through the show's run, however, a few of The Flash's familiar "Rogues Gallery" of colorful super-villains began making appearances.

The most famous Rogues in the series were The Trickster, played by Mark Hamill, and his sidekick Prank, played by Corinne Bohrer. This foreshadowed Hamill's subsequent success at playing The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. Hamill would later reprise the role of The Trickster on an episode of Justice League Unlimited. Captain Cold, played by Michael Champion, and the Mirror Master, played by David Cassidy as a disgraced expert in holograms, also appeared in their own episodes. Although fans were pleased to see more DC character's inclusions in the series, the interpretations were radically different from the source material, with the exception of Hamill's Trickster. Captain Cold, for instance, was turned into an albino hitman who murdered his victims by literally freezing them to death, while the Mirror Master was little more than a common thug with a nickname.

Ultimately, these appearances were too little, too late to save the show, which struggled with a high per-episode price tag, stiff competition from NBC's strong Thursday night lineup and Fox, and frequent preemptions due to breaking coverage of the Persian Gulf War and NBA basketball games, resulting in low ratings, a fluctuating time slot which resulted a shift to Saturdays by the spring, and eventually, cancellation after a single season.

[edit] Recurring themes/running gags

The series had certain recurring themes/running gags, such as Barry secretly using his superhuman speed to his or others's benefit--both in and out of uniform--moving so fast as to be unseen, and the corresponding surprised reactions of others when things seemed to move or happen with no visible cause.

Another recurring theme was the fact that a side-effect of Barry's powers was a ravenous hunger, due to his body requiring food to replace the tremendous amount of energy he used at super-speed; he would often be shown consuming huge meals, as well as sneaking snacks whenever he could, sometimes at super-speed, such as consuming an entire tray of hors d'œuvres at a reception when no one was looking, or drinking an entire gallon jug of milk in less than five seconds, using enough suction to crush the jug when it emptied. In the recently relaunched The Flash comic book series, the main character was described as having the same metabolic limitation.

[edit] Home video: VHS and DVD

For over a decade after the series was canceled, the only episodes commercially available were in three VHS "movies," two of which were compilations of similarly-themed episodes re-edited into a movie-length feature:

  • The Flash--the movie-length pilot, which had been re-edited into two separate episodes after its initial complete airing
  • The Flash II: Revenge of The Trickster--compilation of episodes "The Trickster" and "Trial of the Trickster," featuring Mark Hamill's turn as the titular villain
  • The Flash III: Deadly Nightshade--compilation of episodes "Ghost In The Machine" and "Deadly Nightshade," where The Flash teams up with Nightshade (played by Jason Bernard), a now middle-aged costumed hero who was the protector of Central City in his youth. This third Flash VHS tape was only released in the United Kingdom (region 2, PAL format).

The complete series is now available as a DVD set, released by Warner Bros. on January 10, 2006. Many of the original releases of the set suffered from a flaw on Disc 1 which manifested just before the final segment of the episode "Pilot," causing the scene to skip or freeze, and ultimately caused a return to the disc's main menu before the final segment was completed. When the problem was discovered, Warner Bros. corrected the flaw and issued "fixed" versions of Disc 1 in exchange for the flawed versions.

[edit] Cast

Actor Role
John Wesley Shipp Barry Allen/The Flash
Amanda Pays Christina 'Tina' McGee
Alex Désert Julio Mendez
Mike Genovese Lt. Warren Garfield
Richard Belzer Joe Kline
Gloria Reuben Sabrina
Dick Miller Fosnight
Mark Hamill James Montgomery Jesse/The Trickster
Michael Champion Leonard Snart/Captain Cold
David Cassidy Sam Scudder/The Mirror Master
Joyce Hyser Megan Lockhart
Biff Manard Officer Michael Francis Murphy
Vito D'Ambrosio Officer Tony Bellows
Michael Nader Nicolas Pike
Jason Bernard Desmond Powell/The Nightshade

[edit] Episodes

  • Episode 1 - Pilot: The origin of The Flash. An accident gives police crime lab expert Barry Allen awesome powers of speed, and he vows to use them to bring his brother's murderer to justice. But first, Allen must learn to control his sudden, remarkable talents. Dr. Christina "Tina" McGee, who works for S.T.A.R. Labs, helps him with this.
  • Episode 2 - Out Of Control: He needs subjects for genetic-engineering research. Tina's former colleague is the main suspect when the bodies of murdered homeless people mysteriously disappear from crime scenes.
  • Episode 3 - Watching The Detectives: A crooked D.A. discovers the crusader's civilian identity and uses that information to extort him into becoming his secret accomplice.
  • Episode 4 - Honor Among Thieves: Guarding a priceless exhibit has the police stretched thin, a situation which a criminal mastermind exploits citywide with several thefts.
  • Episode 5 - Double Vision: A mad scientist implants a device in the crusader's brain and gains remote control of his powers.
  • Episode 6 - Sins Of The Father: Ex-cop Henry Allen dismisses Barry's modern police techniques until his son captures an escaped con targeting Henry.
  • Episode 7 - Child's Play: A '60s drug icon who faked his own death and went into hiding reasserts himself by unleashing a new addictive designer drug on the world.
  • Episode 8 - Shroud Of Death: Barry puts together bits of metal found at crime scenes and discovers that they form a neo-fascist group's medallion, with Lt. Garfield as the group's next target.
  • Episode 9 - Ghost In The Machine: The Ghost controls the airwaves, tapping into video feeds just as he did back in 1955. The Nightshade, a crime-fighter of that era, resurfaces to fight him with The Flash joining him.
  • Episode 10 - Sight Unseen: A criminal who has developed a cloaking device renders himself invisible and establishes a deadly vendetta endangering S.T.A.R. Labs and Central City.
  • Episode 11 - Beat The Clock: The Flash must race against time and the electric chair to prove the innocence of a jazz saxophonist who was convicted of murdering his famous wife.
  • Episode 12 - Tina, Is That You?: Tina embarks on a crime spree with an all-girl gang after a bio-feedback experiment yields disastrous results, and her first target is The Flash.
  • Episode 13 - The Trickster: The hunter becomes the hunted as James Montgomery Jesse, a schizophrenic killer being pursued by Megan Lockhart, commences to stalk her instead. Inspired by The Flash, the criminal dons a flashy outfit and calls himself The Trickster.
  • Episode 14 - Be My Baby: The Flash helps a mother protect her child against her dangerous husband, who wants the child only for its genetic potential.
  • Episode 15 - Fast Forward: While pursuing his brother's killer The Flash is sent ten years into the future, where Nicholas Pike is the mayor of Central City and any mention of The Flash is against the law.
  • Episode 16 - Deadly Nightshade: The Flash and The Nightshade team up once again to stop a murderous vigilante who has taken The Nightshade's name.
  • Episode 17 - Captain Cold: On the hottest day of the year, four gangsters are found frozen to death. They are the victims of a notorious hitman known as Captain Cold, and his next target may be The Flash.
  • Episode 18 - Twin Streaks: A scientist uses The Flash's blood to clone Barry Allen, and the clone decides to assume Barry's identity.
  • Episode 19 - Done With Mirrors: Sam Scudder, a criminal genius who uses mirrors and holograms to commit his crimes hunts down his double-crossing partner, who has found refuge with one of her old high school friends--Barry Allen.
  • Episode 20 - Good Night, Central City: When bodies begin disappearing from the police morgue and a gang of thieves start putting people to sleep, it falls to The Flash to save the victims and clear Barry Allen's name at the same time.
  • Episode 21 - Alpha: A conscience-stricken android seeks The Flash's aid to avoid being programmed as the perfect assassin.
  • Episode 22 - The Trial Of The Trickster: James Jesse is preparing to go on trial for the crimes of The Trickster, but with the help of his sidekick, Prank, and a brainwashing device, he soon enlists The Flash's assistance in passing judgement on Central City.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The comic book version of the Trickster, who had many characteristics in common with The Joker, had developed a variety of "gag" weapons over the years, but initially his gimmick was a pair of flying shoes. James Jesse, inspired by his reverse-namesake Jesse James, used his flying shoes to rob airplanes in mid-flight. The flying ability was completely negated from the TV series, and instead, the Trickster used a variety of joke weapons. (Following Mark Hamill's appearance on the TV show, an occasional recurring in-joke was used in the comics, where the Trickster, while using his flying shoes, quipped that he was "doing his Luke Skywalker imitation.")
  • In the original TV series broadcast, episodes 12 and 13 were shown out of sequence; episode 12 makes direct reference to events from episode 13.
  • Joyce Hyser would appear as the character Megan Lockhart in 3 episodes.
  • In the comics, Barry Allen died in the mid-80's maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, sacrificing himself to save all of reality. He was replaced by Wally West, his nephew by marriage. Some of this is referenced in the episode "Fast Forward," when Barry lands ten years in the future to find Central City in the hands of the madman who had murdered his brother, Nicholas Pike. Time travel was a common plot device in the comics and used extensively to allow Barry to interact with his successor after his death. Barry was also capable of entering alternate dimensions with the use of what he called the "cosmic treadmill."
  • In "Deadly Nightshade," The Nightshade reveals that he knew Fosnight when he was "running numbers" for Gorilla Grodd. Presumably, this Grodd was a human mobster with a convenient nickname. In the comics, Grodd was an actual gorilla, a hyper-intelligent renegade from a hidden city of gorillas in Africa. According to both Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo in a 2006 interview they gave, if the TV series had continued, Gorilla Grodd would have made an appearance in Season 3.
  • The character of The Nightshade had some elements that clearly drew influences from golden age DC character Sandman, such as his signature appearance (gas mask, trenchcoat and fedora) or his use of a non-lethal knockout gun. Other elements might be references to another Golden Age crusader, Dr. Mid-Nite.
  • In "Watching The Detectives," Tina is expecting a call from Carter Hall. Carter Hall is, in the comics, a museum curator who spends his nights as Hawkman.
  • Numerous references to the Flash legacy are referenced throughout the show. S.T.A.R. Labs is located on Garrick Avenue and Barry's older brother is named Jay. Jay Garrick was the name of the original Flash.
  • In the comics, Barry and Iris West married (as opposed to her disappearing after the first episode). She was a reporter in the vein of Lois Lane and was noted for landing the first interview with the Flash. More notably, Iris's nephew Wally became the third Flash following Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. In the TV show, Barry's nephew Shawn bears a striking resemblance to Wally.
  • Barry, when pretending to be the scientist who "created" The Flash, calls himself Professor Zoom. Professor Zoom, a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash, was a madman from the future who wore an inverted version of The Flash's uniform that was primarily yellow in color in answer to The Flash's red uniform, with a red-against-black lightning bolt as opposed to the yellow-against-white lightning bolt of The Flash's uniform. His real name was Eobard Thawne, and he was a distant relative of the Allens. Thanks to an obsession with The Flash, Thrawne ends up traveling back in time to battle both Barry Allen and Wally West and murders Barry's wife Iris.
  • Tina McGee never actually met Barry Allen in the comics. She was an associate of Wally West's Flash. Her story about her husband falling victim to his own experiments, however, was present in the comics. Instead of being named David, in the comics his name is Jerry, and he survives his tests, though they leave him horribly deformed. His experiments in the comics involved replicating The Flash's abilities as mass-production. He was briefly known as Speed Demon or Speed McGee.
  • Danny Elfman's theme tune is extremely similar to his theme from Batman. In fact, its main musical motif is virtually identical. You can also see Batman-Movieposters in episode 7, 14 and 16.
  • The Asian reporter who hounds Barry in early episodes was named Linda Park. In the comics, she hounded Wally West. The two started out with an adversarial relationship, but eventually fell in love and got married.
  • Executive producers Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo became the writers of the Flash comic book series beginning with The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1 (2007), scripting a total of eight issues of the series' 13 issues. The series focused on Bart Allen, Barry's grandson. Another regular writer on the show, Howard Chaykin, is currently doing the art for DC Comics's Hawkgirl.
  • The Flash's uniform was designed and created by Robert Short, based upon the Barry Allen-era costume of the comics. (Short and his team had designed and executed the power suits that actor Tim Dunigan and his castmates wore in Captain Power And The Soldiers Of The Future.) Notable changes from the uniform's comics counterpart include more dramatic "lightning bolt" trim on the gauntlets and a symmetrical lighning bolt design on the belt, and plain red boots instead of yellow boots trimmed with "wings" similar to the mask. The detailing of the mask around the mouth was also slightly modified. The new symmetrical belt and wingless (but still yellow) boots later made it into the Flash comics.
  • When The Trickster first appears he does so as a maniacal stage magician. This is possibly a reference to Abra Kadabra, a Flash villain from the 64th Century where the science of his era resembles magic in ours.

[edit] Comic Book

A comic book tie-in special based on the TV series was published by DC Comics in 1991 titled The Flash TV Special #1 running at 76 pages, featured two stories (one story was written by John Byrne with art by Javier Saltares), plus a behind-the-scenes look on the making of the TV series with photos.

[edit] Video Game

A video game was released for Game Boy in 1991 by THQ, and was based on the TV series. It was released in the US and had a password system. A second game was programmed by Probe and released only in Europe for the Master System in 1993.

v • d • e
The Flash
Creators:
The Flash:
Supporting characters:
Villains:
Locations:
Miscellanea:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ 1990 Pilot Closing Theme
  2. ^ 1990 Live Action Theme - RA
  3. ^ 1990 Live Action Theme - MP3

[edit] External links