Not to take anything away from all of the comic book fans here, who seem to adore this show, but are you crazy? Everything about this show screams out "bad", from the acting to the writing to the directing. It's like as if the actors are reading their lines off of a teleprompter (which they probably are). Even when the show was on TV, I guess I never watched more than one episode of the series -- it had nothing to do with the network giving bad time slots to this show. Giving this show the network's best time slot would have just resulted in that time slot getting destroyed. There are just some shows that are too horrid to survive, and this is one of them. Its fate was exactly what it should have been.

The Flash" is the BEST live-action comic book adaptation ever to appear on television! I speak as a 'baby boomer' who grew up on "The Adventures of Superman" in the fifties, endured "Batman" in the sixties, and found "Wonder Woman" a 'mixed bag' in the seventies. "The Flash" is much, much better, and it has always been a tragedy that poor ratings (due largely to shifting time slots and the Gulf War) killed this series after a single season.But what a season it was! Produced by fellow 'baby boomers' Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, to capitalize on the success of the Tim Burton "Batman" and visual style of the Warren Beatty "Dick Tracy" (with a theme by the composer of both films, Danny Elfman), the series focused on the adventures of the 'Silver Age' Flash, Barry Allen (played with boyish charm by John Wesley Shipp). A police scientist, Allen is struck by a bolt of lightning in his lab, and doused with an array of chemicals that alters his DNA, mutating him into a being of nearly limitless speed, superhuman regenerative powers, and an appetite for food to maintain his stamina that could keep pizza parlors in business for years! The death of his older brother, Jay (named after the forties' comic book Flash, and played by 'B' movie legend, Tim Thomerson) leads Allen to don a mask and costume, and fight crime, with his secret shared by scientist Tina McGee (Amanda Pays). Then it is literally 'off to the races', as the Flash uses his speed to combat street gangs, vicious killers, and the celebrated 'Rogues' Gallery' of costumed villains 'lifted' from the comic book (The Trickster, Captain Cold, etc.) While the series never attempted to be 'real', it avoided campiness, and respected both the audience and it's comic book roots (with references to legendary "Flash" authors and artists cleverly slipped in). The FX were astonishing (and VERY expensive to create), and still 'hold up' extremely well against the CGI effects of today.Among the memorable actors who appeared in the series were Mark Hamill (just seven years after the original "Star Wars" trilogy concluded, and developing the 'villainous' skills that would make him the ideal 'Joker' in the animated "Batman" series), Bill ("Lost in Space") Mumy, Dick Miller, Robert Shayne ('Inspector Henderson' in "The Adventures of Superman"), David Cassidy, a pre-stardom Angela Bassett, Richard ("Homicide" and "Law and Order") Belzer, M. Emmet Walsh, and Alex Désert, as Allen's dreadlocks-coiffed sidekick, Julio Mendez.Each episode of the series was vastly entertaining, with Shipp displaying not only a heroic physique, but a finely-tuned comic timing, and a dazzling smile guaranteed to melt your heart, as well. He made a character in a red 'muscle suit' not only believable, but as ingratiating as Christopher Reeve's 'Superman'.I could go on and on, but don't take MY word for it...Watch an episode or two...You'll get 'hooked'!

This movie premiered in September of 1990 shortly after the 1989 Batman film. There are definite similarities between the two in mood, art direction, style and music. When I first heard about this show I was really excited because I had been a fan of The Flash and DC Comics for years prior to this show. I felt the creators of the show did a wonderful job in setting the mood for a comic book atmosphere. I thought the stories were entertaining and as I watch them years later they still appeal to me. The special effects for the time were pretty good. John Wesley Shipp made a great Barry Allen, and The Flash costume he wore was one of the better costume efforts I've seen for a superhero. I also felt the show created some real likeable characters. In addition, I felt the Barry Allen and Christina McGee characters had good on-screen chemistry.Unfortunately, the TV show only lasted one season because CBS never knew where they wanted to put this show from week to week. I watched every episode of the TV show until it was cancelled. I can only ponder what could have been, where the show could have gone if it had been given a real chance to grow and develope into a premiere super hero show. Whenever any of the actors show up in anything else, I always think of The Flash immediately, especially John Wesley Shipp. It was only one season, but his performance as The Flash and his alter ego, Barry Allen, left a lasting impression.

Although it's true that Flash was a more "obscure" hero, that didn't make this show any less amazing. Million-dollar effects and fun characters made it exciting and interesting, and because of this show, I've been reading comic books for ten years. I don't think it mattered that Barry was dead in the comics, or that Flash is less recognizeable than Batman or Superman; he's still an interesting character with really cool superpowers and a nifty costume, and that's why DC characters translate so well into live-action, unlike Marvel characters. Now if only there was a Green Lantern series...