The Flash (TV series)
| The Flash | |
|---|---|
_logo.jpg){kind=logo} Main Title Card |
|
| Format | Action/Adventure Science fiction Drama |
| Created by | Character: Robert Kanigher John Broome Carmine Infantino |
| Developed by | Danny Bilson Paul De Meo |
| Written by | Danny Bilson Paul De Meo Steve Hattman Gail Morgan Hickman Howard Chaykin John Francis Moore |
| Starring | John Wesley Shipp Amanda Pays Alex Désert Mark Hamill |
| Theme music composer | Danny Elfman[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Danny Bilson Paul De Meo |
| Producer(s) | Don Kurt Gail Morgan Hickman |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 45 minutes (60 with commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Pet Fly Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS[2] |
| Picture format | 4:3 Standard |
| Original run | September 20, 1990 – May 18, 1991 |
The Flash is a 1990 American television series that starred John Wesley Shipp as the superhero, the Flash (Created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert) , and co-starred Amanda Pays.[3][4] The series was developed from the DC Comics characters by the writing team of Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, and produced by their company, Pet Fly Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. Composer Danny Elfman wrote the show’s title theme, and Stan Winston Studios built the costume.[5][6]
Contents |
[edit] Production
The Flash's costume was designed and created by Robert Short, based upon the Barry Allen-era costume of the comics, but more modernized.[7]
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 of the series' thirteen issues. The series focused on Bart Allen, Barry's grandson. Another regular writer on the show was Howard Chaykin, who has written and illustrated many comic book series in the past three decades.
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.[citation needed]
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Wesley Shipp | Barry Allen/The Flash[8] |
| Amanda Pays | Christina "Tina" McGee |
| Alex Désert | Julio Mendez |
| Mike Genovese | Lt. Warren Garfield |
| Richard Belzer | Joe Kline |
| Gloria Reuben | Sabrina |
| Dick Miller | Fosnight |
| Robert Shayne | News Stand Vendor |
| 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
| Season | Episodes | Premiere | Finale | Production | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | September 20, 1990 | May 18, 1991 | 1990-1991 | |
[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 (Tim Thomerson), Barry 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.[9]
Film and television veteran Robert Shayne appeared in several episodes as the blind newsstand owner where Barry bought his papers. Shayne has achieved a level of stardom years earlier as Inspector Henderson on The Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves. Shayne was by this time blind in real life and learned his lines by rehearsing with his wife until he memorized them.[citation needed]
[edit] Rogues gallery
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. Hamill would later reprise the role of the Trickster on an episode of Justice League Unlimited, and would subsequently go on to voice the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series and its many sequels and spin-offs, including theatrical and direct-to-video movies, and video games. It has been suggested that Hamill’s performance as the Trickster likely contributed to his being selected to voice the Joker, but an interview with voice director Andrea Romano suggests that this is not the case.[10]
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 the series included DC characters, the interpretations were radically different from the source material, with the exception of Hamill's Trickster, though even he was altered somewhat - turned from a con-man and a largely benign criminal into a delusional mass murderer. 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 and advanced hologram technology.
[edit] Cancellation
Ultimately, these appearances were too little and too late to save the show, which struggled with a high per-episode price tag, stiff competition from NBC and Fox's strong Thursday night lineups, as well as frequent pre-emptions due to breaking coverage of the Gulf War.[11] With the series' second episode, the one-hour program was shifted to the 8:30pm slot to avoid the media blitz caused by The Simpsons scheduled opposite The Cosby Show at 8:00. The unusual 8:30 slot did not work and the series floundered when moved to 9pm. The remaining episodes aired on Saturday nights where it faced cancellation after a single season. A brief attempt at rerunning the series in the summer on Fridays in hopes of finding an audience and reversing the cancellation also failed.[12] Had the show continued, it was revealed the second season would have opened with the Flash's rogues teaming up to take down the hero.[13]
[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. It features two stories, one written by John Byrne with art by Javier Saltares, and the second featuring a thief Kid Flash; plus a behind-the-scenes look on the making of the TV series with photos.
[edit] Video game
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011) |
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.
[edit] Soundtrack
|
|
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011) |
In 2010, a limited-edition two-disc soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records, featuring Danny Elfman's main theme and the scores by series composer Shirley Walker for the pilot and the episodes "Captain Cold", "The Trickster", "Watching the Detective", "Ghost in the Machine", "Done With Mirrors", "Fast Forward", and "Trial of the Trickster".
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "The Flash: The Complete Series". DVD Talk. http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20004/flash-the-complete-series-the/. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "'Flash' Suits Up for a Sizzling TV Ratings Race". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-19/entertainment/ca-726_1_tv-ratings. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "'The Flash' Is Sizzling". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-07-19/lifestyle/9007190330_1_sharon-gless-jane-pauley-cagney-lacey. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "Top 10 Comic to TV Adaptations". IGN. http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/798/798709p2.html. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ^ "On CBS, the Flash Faces Toughest Foes Yet: 'Cosby' and 'Simpsons'". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-08-30/features/9003130146_1_flash-comics-comic-book-crime-lab. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "High-Tech Flash-Forward". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59956071.html?dids=59956071:59956071&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+07,+1990&author=SUE+MARTIN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=High-Tech+Flash-Forward&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "The History of DC Comics on TV". IGN. http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/105/1059919p2.html. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- ^ "Actor Seeks Substance Under Hero's Surface". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-21/entertainment/ca-7217_1. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "Will CBS' Gee-whiz 'Flash' Shine More Than Once?". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-09-20/lifestyle/9009190334_1_barry-allen-flash-american-dreamer. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "Mark Hamill". DCAU Wiki. http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Mark_Hamill.
- ^ "Watch Out, Flash! Here Comes... Bart?". Sun Sentinel. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-09-20/features/9002150084_1_flash-bart-simpson-time-slot. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "The Flash: The Fastest Show On Television". Comic Book Bin. http://www.comicbookbin.com/bubble098.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ Hofius, Jason; George Khoury (2010). Age Of TV Heroes: The Live-Action Adventures Of Your Favorite Comic Book Characters. TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 1605490105.
[edit] External links
- The Flash at the Internet Movie Database
- The Flash at TV.com
- The Flash: Revenge of the Trickster at the Internet Movie Database
- Flash III: Deadly Nightshade at the Internet Movie Database
- Episode Guide from SciFi.com
- Crimson Lightning - A blog featuring regular reviews of The Flash television series.
- Interview about the series with lead actor John Wesley Shipp
- Pet Fly Podcast Page Including a downloadable commentary track in which series developers Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo discuss the "Trial of the Trickster" episode
- The TV series on Hyperborea
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
