Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Action, characters, and effects
Cons: A bit slow and
predictable, but it's a pilot episode
The Bottom Line:
A good beginning
Definitely a pilot
But still fun to watch
I recently learned from a friend that there was a TV series
based on the superhero The Flash back during the 1990-1991 season. He promised me that the pilot was good, and he
was right.
The residents of Central City are being terrorized by a gang
of motorcyclists. They blow stuff up,
rob, and kill people. And the police
seem unable to stop them.
Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) is a member of the police
crime lab. After the latest attack, he
bags some evidence and then spends much of the night trying to use it to find
some clue. After sending his co-worker,
Julio Mendez (AlexDesert), home, lightning strikes through a window in the lab,
knocking Barry into some chemicals.
When he wakes up, he finds he has strange new speed and a
strange new appetite. He appeals to Dr.
Tina McGee (Amanda Pays) for help. Can
he use his new powers to foil the criminals, especially when the fight becomes
personal?
This was originally a two hour pilot for the series. Now, it's an hour and a half without
commercials. You can tell they had a
decent budget for it because the effects are pretty remarkable, especially for
1990. You can believe that Barry, in his
new identity as The Flash, is moving much faster than the people around him.
At the same time, you've got the typical issues of a pilot
or origin story. There is lots of
exposition as it introduces characters and the premise of the series. Frankly, I find those to be a little hard to
get into because they are rather slow and predictable. That's the case here, although they do a good
job of keeping things moving so we get to the parts you expect rather quickly.
The acting is good here.
All three of the leads already seem to have a handle on their characters
and make them interesting. Meanwhile,
the guest stars are also entertaining.
And on the fun side, there are the outfits. This may have been fall of 1990, but the 80's
aren't quite over. Some of the clothes
and even John Wesley Shipp's hair make it obvious. But yeah, what do you expect?
This pilot movie was made available at some point on
VHS. I'm sure it's long out of print by
now. I watched it as part of the
complete first season DVD set. That's
the way to try to get it today.
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