THE FLASH(1990) COMPLETE SERIES
This is the original, first ever, TV series about
"The Fastest Man Alive", The Flash! It only ran
one season! Not sure why, cause at least by the
first episode it seems that it should have been
given more of a chance! While set in the hear
and now(1990s) this has the feel of a show set
in the 40's or 50's, with quite a bit of violence!!
This has many great and almost great guest
stars, many from Star Trek and Babylon 5 lore:
Bill Mumy(Babylon 5 - Laneir), Jeri Ryan(ST:
Voyager - 7 of 9), Denise Crosby(ST: TNG -
Tasha Yar), Robert O'Reily(ST: TNG & DS9 -
Gowran), Jeffrey Combs(ST: DS9 - Weyoun,
Enterprise - Commander Shran), Robert Hooks
(Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - Admiral
Morrow)!
EPISODES 1: PILOT(Sept. 20, 1990):
The pilot movie for this series, this is a pretty
good start to it!!! Shipp does a decent enough
Barry/Flash, with several decent co-stars for
this episode/movie! Especially good is Barry's
father(M. Emmett Walsh) and Amanda Pays
as the doctor trying to help Barry with new
found powers!
The story is one of revenge, both by the antagonist
and Barry, and one that was repeated almost
verbatim in Blue Bloods!!! Still and all, a
pretty decent show! A
EPISODE 2: OUT OF CONTROL(Sept. 27, 1990):
People in the slums are being offed and it
comes to the attention of Barry, who decides
since the police won't/can't do anything about
it, he will!! A
EPISODE 3: WATCHING THE DETECTIVES(Oct. 18, 1990):
One of the kingpins of the underworld is
determined to make a killing in the property
business, as well as get himself re-elected!!
He has hired a woman to find out who The
Flash is, and she does a good job, making
a lot of problems for Barry!! A
EPISODE 4: HONOR AMONG THIEVES(Oct. 25, 1990):
A priceless mask is coming to Central City museum
and there's fear that there's a group of criminals out
to get it!! A
EPISODE 5: DOUBLE VISION(Nov. 1, 1990):
This one is a little under par for the series! There's a
dude that is using The Flash as an unwitting accomplice
in crime!!!! B
EPISODE 6: SINS OF THE FATHER(Nov. 8, 1990):
Barry's dad is in big trouble as a criminal who he
put behind bars escapes and is out for vengeance!!
M Emmett Walsh again guests in this as Barry's father!! A
EPISODE 7: CHILD'S PLAY(Nov. 15, 1990):
Another very good show, with the emphasis on
a couple of kids who stumble upon a drug ring
that gets them into a lot of trouble!!!
This has the ever wonderful Adam West in it
as a Hippie dude!! If you don't know he's in
it, you'd never recognize him!! A
EPISODE 8: SHROUD OF DEATH(Nov. 29, 1990):
High ranking officials are getting killed right and
left, and Barry is putting together clues to find
out who's up to these!!! A
EPISODE 9: GHOST IN THE MACHINE(Dec. 13, 1990):
There's an insane dude who calls himself the
Ghost who was trying to blackmail Central City
for a million dollars!! He was stopped by another
dude dressed up in costume, calling himself Night
Shade! The Ghost is back, and he's seeking revenge!
But so is Night Shade, as well as The Flash!! A
EPISODE 10: SIGHT UNSEEN(Jan. 10, 1991):
Someone's sneaking around doing bad stuff to
good people!! Only problem is, no one can see
them!! Looks like a job for Superman, um, The
Flash! A
EPISODE 11: BEAT THE CLOCK(Jan. 31, 1991):
A musician on death row is being helped by
Barry and Julio!! He's a friend of Julio's and
he doesn't believe he killed his wife! A
EPISODE 12: THE TRICKSTER(Feb. 7, 1991):
Starring the great Mark Hammil as the Treckster!!
This also has returning as the reporter Megan
Lockhart who finds herself in a lot of trouble as
a heart throb of The Trickster!! A lot of humor
in this, as one might expect!! A
EPISODE 13: TINA, IS THAT YOU?(Feb.14, 1991):
The real question is, will the real Tina please
stand up??!! Barry's having identity issues, and
it seems to be getting worse and worse! B+
EPISODE 14: BE MY BABY(Feb. 21, 1991):
Barry literally runs into a young woman with a baby
who appears to be running from someone!! Barry
quickly gets caught up in the whole mess!!
EPISODE 15: FAST FORWARD(Feb. 27, 1991):
Nicholas Pike, who killed Barry's brother Jay, gets
released from prison!! And of course he's out for Flash's
blood!! While outrunning a missile that explodes
Flash gets thrown into the future, which is now run by
Pike!! A
EPISODE 16: DEADLY NIGHTSHADE(Mar. 30, 1991):
We have a new dude dressed up like Nightshade,
'cept this dude is REALLY mean!!! This leaves The
Flash and the real Nightshade to bring in the
impostor!!
This has Star Trek: TNG's Denise Crosby in it
as a doctor with an unknown agenda. and
Star Trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan as a poor little
rich girl who gets kidnapped which starts this
whole mess!!
Also returning in this is Jason Bernard as
the original Nightshade! I really enjoy Jason!! A+
EPISODE 17: CAPTAIN COLD(Apr. 6, 1991):
Captain Cold(Flash's answer to Batman's Mr.
Freeze!), is in Central City freezing everything
in his path!! A
EPISODE 18: TWIN STREAKS(Apr. 13, 1991):
Two clowns are trying to clone super-fast,
um, clones!! It's not going so well for them
so they decide to enlist The Flash in their
scheme, with or without his consent!! B
EPISODE 19: DONE WITH MIRRORS(Apr. 27, 1991):
David Cassidy guest stars in this as The Mirror
Master, who steals a special mirror that promptly
gets stolen from him!! The second thief is a girl
from Barry's past, and she quickly gets him involved! A-
EPISODE 20: GOODNIGHT CENTRAL CITY(May 4, 1991):
Bill Mumy guest stars in this tale of a scientist
who's come up with a device that puts people
to sleep by sound!! He teams up with his low
life cousin who talks him into using it for less
than good causes!! Barry gets railroaded by an
over zealous Internal Affairs guy who's out to
put Barry behind bars for keeps!! A
EPISODE 21: ALPHA(May 11, 1991):
This episode is about an android/robot who's
being trained for covert assassin duties!! She
however seems to have a mind of her own
and decides to go out on her own into the
world!! This of course, causes LOTS of
trouble!! B
EPISODE 22: THE TRIAL OF THE TRICKSTER(May 18, 1991):
In this, the final episode of the series, the
great Mark Hamill returns to reprise his
role of The Trickster!!
It's the trial of the century, and it brings
back Megan Lockhart(Joyce Hyser), who
is an on again, off again flame of Barry's!
Of course, all Hell breaks loose, and there
are those who want to get The Trickster
out of jail!! A
From another reviewer at IMDb.com:
the flash was a pretty good adaptation of the
comic books and it really is a shame that it got
canceled so fast . the acting was pretty good
and the characters were pretty close to their
paper counterparts. all in all a decent show
and a better adaptation of a comic book into
a series than any other so far ( that includes
the not too bad but too girlie adaptation of
superboy in WB's smallville ) - ruthven1974