Posted bydunny0	 2014/06/30 2016/01/28
It's no secret that the pilot for the new CW series "The Flash" has found its way onto the internets. I managed to track a copy down, and gave it a go last night – and I gotta say, this is a show that doesn't fuck around.
Mild spoilers ahead.For those of you who don't know who the Flash is, here's the breakdown: He's the fastest man alive. That's his whole thing – he's super fast, like crazy fast, like you can't see him he's that fast. Fast enough to run through time when the plot calls for it, and because he's usually a founding member of the Justice League, he hangs out with Superman and Batman fighting crime and whatnot.
Since this is the pilot, Barry Allen (the guy who will become the Flash) is not yet the Flash, let alone buddies with Superman or Batman. Since he's on the CW, it's likely he'll never be friends with Superman or Batman, but he is already buddies with Arrow so… I guess he has that going for him? I don't know, I haven't watched Arrow in ages.
Anyway, Barry is a CSI dude and he's super good at his job, and we know this because they totally rip-off pay homage to BBC's Sherlock with the nifty floaty notation stuff as he looks at clues. This happens right at the start of the show, and is never seen again so… I guess his genius was established? I would like to see this played out a bit more as the series progresses – you know, a crime fighter who actually deducts instead of just beats dudes?
Anyway, they also take the time to establish his Tragic Backstory – His mom was murdered by a dude who was a yellow ball of lightning energy and his dad went to jail for it because no one believed the yellow lightning guy excuse – so he's been living with a cop and that cop's daughter for ages. And, because of course he does, he totally has a crush on the cops daughter Iris.
Anyway, things happen and fifteen minutes into the story – boom – he's got superpowers. As I said, the show doesn't fuck about. It's about a dude named The Flash, so it makes him The Flash and just gets on with it, which I can appreciate. Hell, it even gives him the suit to wear about thirty minutes in, instead of – say – ten seasons later.
He foils a badguy, cop-dad acknowledges that Lightning Dude maybe real after he sees Barry do basically the same thing in red, and Barry promises not to tell Iris he's got powers.
Because womanfolk can't handle dudes with powers or something, I don't know…
Then he has a nifty monologue about how his life has been standing still, and now he's ready to move on and do stuff – while showing Iris being happy with the detective guy the show sort of setup to be the third part of the now aborted love triangle – and he races off into the city, all smiles and happiness.
There's a bunch I didn't cover, but that's a pretty good outline: It's a show about a dude who can run fast, he's kinda goofy, he's happy to have powers and do good, and he's not going to spend nine seasons pining for a girl who just doesn't see him like that.
Obviously, this is not a review. A leaked pilot really is not enough data to form an opinion on a new series – but based on the pilot alone, I am more than willing to give this series five or six episodes of my time. It looks cool, it's pretty smart, and there's enough setup to keep at least a season going.
When October rolls around, I suggest you go ahead and check it out.
Published by dunny0
A self confessed multiclass geek, dunny0 has skill points in gaming, coding, graphic design, and BS.	View more posts
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