THE FLASH Comes Back Around

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'The Flash - The Complete Third Season' on Blogcritics.

The Flash – The Complete Third Season has arrived! The show’s junior year begins with Barry Allen having altered time to save his mother’s life. Unfortunately for Barry, that comes with a whole host of unforeseen consequences. Barry seeks to reverse the new timeline, dubbed Flashpoint, but despite his best efforts, things don’t exactly go back to normal. There are many consequences for him to deal with, testing the superhero in new and challenging ways.

I like The Complete Third Season‘s premise a lot. Many shows and movies have dealt with time travel, but few have gotten into the realistic intricacies of it. The fact that Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash (Grant Gustin), changes something doesn’t meant it can easily be undone. In The Flash, time is portrayed as a fragile thing, and while much can be set back to the way it was, there will always be differences that cannot be undone. Barry learns his lesson early in the year not to screw with the past again, though he has to deal with the fallout from his actions for a long time to come.

The character-driven story goes hand-in-hand with the neat science fiction element. The best superheroes aren’t perfect, and learn the hard way that their actions have consequences. Even if they do something with the noblest of intentions, the world doesn’t always let them off the hook. This is a very hard lesson to learn, but an authentic tale to tell. The weight of it gives a new angle to Barry that I enjoyed very much.

Hanging over the whole season is another time-travel related problem: tossed briefly into the future, Barry sees Iris West (Candice Patton), the love of his life, perish at the hands of Savitar, the Big Bad this year. Obviously, Barry wants to change this future, and has a very hard time doing so. This opens up the dichotomy of time also being hard to change, and even after learning a lesson, there may be a desire to repeat the mistake. This complexity, combined with the above, makes for a very pleasing run of episodes.

There are many other highlights in the twenty-three episode season. I loved the musical crossover episode with Supergirl, “Duet,” which made good use of the strong singing talents of both casts. Patton did an excellent job portraying an Iris that could accept her fate. Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) flirty relationship with new frenemy Gypsy (Jessica Camacho, Sleepy Hollow) is fun, as is the inclusion of H.G., the third major character played by Tom Cavanagh in three seasons. Adding Julian Albert (Tom Felton, the Harry Potter films) to the cast nicely shook up the dynamic. A visit to Gorilla City made for a cool way to play up the different worlds The Flash deals with. And it is very hard not to be delighted by Caitlin’s turn as Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker), evil as she may be.

The Complete Third Season does expose a glaring problem with setting multiple television series in the same universe, though. Savitar is a truly terrible villain, and the possibility of losing Iris is just about the worst thing Barry can imagine. Yet, Barry doesn’t call upon the Green Arrow, Supergirl, or any of his other super-powered friends for help (save a one-episode appearance by Snart (Wentworth Miller)). Given how serious the situation is and how desperate he becomes, Barry should be making use of any avenue available to him, so it doesn’t make sense that he doesn’t recruit his pals from the other shows. The mid-season crossover event was OK, but there really should be more integration in a story with such intense stakes.

The Flash – The Complete Third Season comes with a wealth of extras, including TEN featurettes! Unfortunately, one of them is the 2016 Comic-Con panel for the show, and as covered in other recent reviews, sticking it on the last disc of the set isn’t very helpful; we really need next year’s panel, or, at minimum, put it on the first disc to view before the episodes. But the other featurettes, covering a variety of topics, are good, and there are also deleted scenes and a gag reel.

The Flash – The Complete Third Season is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital.

Back in THE FLASH

Article originally published as THE FLASH Review "The Man Who Saved Central City" on Seat42F.

The Flash -- "The Man Who Saved Central City" Pictured: Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/ The Flash -- Photo: Cate Cameron /The CW

Last night’s season premiere of THE FLASH on CW picks up six months after the spring finale. The metropolis wants to honor “The Man Who Saved Central City,” meaning the titular superhero, but Barry (Grant Gustin) doesn’t feel like he’s the one who deserves the credit. After all, both Eddie (Rick Cosnett) and Ronnie (Robbie Amell) gave their lives in the fight, so Barry understandably is reluctant to receive praise. But the problem goes much further when he won’t allow anyone to help him be The Flash anymore and he encounters a villain, Atom-Smasher (wrestler Adam Copeland), whom he cannot defeat himself.

“The Man Who Saved Central City” is a great character-driven hour for Barry. His despair and urge to pull away in order to protect his loved ones is understandable, and one virtually every superhero goes through at one time or another. Thankfully, unlike, say, Arrow, Barry is much more accepting of the help others want to force upon him, and it only takes him a single hour to change his mind. Not that Iris (Candice Patton) and Joe (Jesse L. Martin) give him a choice in the matter.

Barry isn’t the only one who has split off from the group. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) now finds Star Labs too painful to be in, constantly reminded of Ronnie. She blames herself from not leaving town with him when he asked her to go. As such, she’s accepted a job with a different lab and hasn’t kept in contact with anyone. It only takes one visit and heart-to-heart from Barry, though, to make her feel better. After all, the whole team needs to stick together, and she’s soon back where she belongs.

These elements show us how different THE FLASH is from Arrow and other superhero ventures. It has become in fashion to have our heroes be moody loners, and in many cases, that’s fine. But it’s also refreshing to get a lighter touch sometimes, and Barry is the type of individual this fits well with. The show can be dark in sections, but a thread of optimism runs through it and is an essential part of this series.

“The Man Who Saved Central City” is pretty cool overall. I like that it waits to show us Ronnie’s death, doling out details sparingly at first, but not to the point where it gets annoying. I enjoy very much Barry’s dream sequence at the beginning where he’s stopping Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell) with the help of his full team, making good use of recurring players. Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) new job with the force is fun, and it’s gratifying to have Dr. Stein (Victor Garber) join the team. The idea that Barry is secretly rebuilding the city at night is neat, too, something most superheroes wouldn’t think to do.

Dr. Wells’ (Tom Cavanagh) presence hangs heavy over the season premiere. We see him in Barry’s dream, and in a video will. Both times he seems kinder, not the evil villain from the end of the season. Is THE FLASH seeking to redeem him? The video he leaves, which provides evidence that frees Henry (John Wesley Shipp) from prison, reaffirms this. I’m not opposed to such a reverse course as long as it’s handled well, giving reason to forgive him before his memory is improved upon. Will he still be around this season to keep the rebranding going, or was his name only in the opening credits for this one last hour?

Despite everything great about “The Man Who Saved Central City,” though, there are two glaring flaws that hurt the episode. One occurs when Joe, Cisco, and Iris openly discuss Barry being The Flash in the middle of the precinct. Aren’t they concerned about blowing his secret identity? Other officers have to hear them, and the last time I checked, only a small circle of people know that Barry is The Flash and it should stay that way. The second is that, right after getting out of prison, Henry leaves town with no explanation.

Henry’s excuse that he’ll get in Barry’s way of becoming who he’s meant to be is crap. Sure, he might be a distraction for a bit, but how does Henry being around impede Barry’s mission? Barry has lots of help, and none of them get in the way. Why doesn’t Barry push for further explanation? And where is Henry going? What else does he have to go to after fourteen years in jail? How is he going to start a new life elsewhere with nothing to his name?

Still, even with these missteps, THE FLASH is generally strong. It’s an entertaining show that has good story and characters. That makes it a show I look forward to each week.

THE FLASH airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.

ARROW / THE FLASH Crossover Is "Brave" and "Bond"

Article first published as ARROW Review Season Episode 8 The Brave and the Bold on Seat42F.

On this week’s installment of the CW’s ARROW, “The Brave and the Bold,” Oliver (Stephen Amell) and company get one step closer to figuring out who killed Sara, with a little help from some friends. It’s a crossover event that works well by serving ARROW’s main player more than the guest stars, using the visitors effectively, and handling a matchup with grace.

When I first heard about the ARROW / The Flash crossover, I was skeptical. That sort of thing is usually a stunt, which values showiness over quality. When the ads starting airing, billing this as being Arrow vs. The Flash, that seemed even worse. Why does the network need to pit two superhero friends against one another? Yet, what ends up emerging in the actual broadcast are two separate, excellent stories that highlight the similarities and differences between the series, while still staying true to the show they take place on.

The Flash’s first hour is very different in tone than ARROW’s second outing. ARROW is dark and gritty, firmly rooted in reality since its titular character has skills, not powers. The Flash is fun and flashy (pun intended), in keeping with the spirit of the young man who accidentally gains super speed. When Oliver visits The Flash, he seems out of place because he’s too serious for that world. When The Flash visits Arrow, he seems out of place because he takes things too lightly. They are perfectly matched to their own environments, and it’s clear that while The Flash may be a spin-off, it is also its own thing.

In The Flash episode, Oliver tries to teach Barry (Grant Gustin), a.k.a. The Flash, to be more aware of his surroundings, training him to be a better crime fighter. It’s a great scene, but it’s even better when Barry tries to apply this lesson in “The Brave and the Bold.” It’s a little corny that he thinks he’s mastering those skills after only a week of practice, but I like the interplay between the two, and how they learn from one another, Barry helping Oliver find his buried humanity.

Oliver may be serious and use brutal tactics, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about people. We’ve seen him go from killing the bad guys to only wounding them to get information, and he acts selflessly to save innocents. Part of this is because Team Arrow is helping to humanize its leader, Oliver’s friends reminding him that there are consequences to his actions and challenging him to be a better man. Having an outsider like Barry come in and reinforce that trend, able to make a more distanced judgment, allows Oliver to really see himself as others see him and extend that change.

It’s also loads of fun to see the two teams intermix. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) are appropriately impressed with Team Arrow’s hideout, being the geeks that they are. Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) makes some improvements in The Flash’s base, and Cisco returns the favor. The chemistry between this mix is charming, and I love that Roy (Colton Haynes) is so amused by the newcomers. I also love the casualness in how Barry accidentally reveals his identity to someone. Basically, any scene in which several main characters from both shows are together, “The Brave and the Bold” shines.

As mentioned, this ARROW installment does have its own semi-self-contained story. The villain from The Flash doesn’t carry over, which is smart because it doesn’t make sense for that to happen. Instead, The Flash characters visit more naturally, just anxious to see the base, and end up getting involved in Oliver’s investigation of a former A.R.G.U.S. agent because they are there.

The bad guy, Harkness (Nick Tarabay, Spartacus: War of the Damned), a.k.a. Captain Boomerang, is a very dangerous man. The fight scenes with him are intense, and he certainly poses a challenge to the efforts of everyone combined, which proves more team-ups might just not be welcome, but necessary in the future. He also brings Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson) further into the series’ story, which is great because she’s someone who really matters to Diggle (David Ramsey) and whom we haven’t seen enough of. She’s a valuable connection for the team to use.

At the end of all that, a showdown between The Flash and The Arrow is promised, but not shown. How can it be? In The Flash episode, they fight for a justifiable reason, Barry being under the influence of a bad guy, and they seem pretty evenly matched, which satisfies both fan camps. When they go to rematch, just for fun, it isn’t shown. Neither fan base wants to see their man lose, and there are many crossover viewers who can’t root for either to fail. It’s better to assume they both have their strengths and weaknesses and are both heroic men.

The flashback this week, seeming even more unnecessary than normal because I wanted to keep getting back to seeing the casts together, who has a limited window to play in, is actually pretty relevant. It illustrates Oliver’s loss of humanity at the same time Barry is helping Oliver realize he’s finding it again. As well as that fits together, though, it would be better to drop it and have some more bits of Cisco and Caitlin with Roy and Felicity.

The ARROW / The Flash crossover seems to me an unqualified success. It’s also structured in such a way to allow many such repetitions of the event in the future without seeming forced or hokey. Let’s hope the writers and producers make that happen, as difficult as it might be to do, production-wise.

ARROW will air its mid-season finale next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.

THE FLASH Flies By

Article first published as THE FLASH Review on Seat42F.

If you’re familiar with The CW series Arrow, you’re likely already aware of both the upcoming spin-off, THE FLASH, and its central character, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin, Glee), who will become the titular superhero. In Allen’s last appearance on Arrow, he is struck by lightning and ends up in a coma, where he has languished for months. So you may be wondering, how will THE FLASH begin?

Well, first we get scenes of Barry as a child, giving him the obligatory tragedy that all heroes must overcome. In Barry’s case, his mother (Michelle Harrison, Continuum) is killed and his father (John Wesley Shipp, Dawson’s Creek, 1990’s The Flash) is arrested as the culprit. Who killed Mrs. Allen is an unsolved mystery, surely designed to give the series somewhere to go.

We also get scenes of Barry on the day of the lightning strike, prior to slipping into his coma. This is important because it introduces us to several important people in his life, like Iris West (Candice Patton, The Game), Barry’s best friend, and her father, Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin, Rent, Law & Order), whom raised Barry. In this way, we get to see what Barry’s life is like before he is a hero. They couldn’t pick up in the present day because of the coma and still have this introduction, so it makes sense to show this flashback, though I wish the episode had started with 9 Months Ago, rather than confusing Arrow viewers until the 9 Months Later tag finally arrives onscreen.

Of course, the meat of the pilot is after the strike, as it must be. After all, Barry isn’t The Flash until that fateful event, and this episode is meant to introduce him as that character. It’s typical origin story balancing, getting the viewers to meet both the man and the myth at the same time, before moving on from there. THE FLASH does this pretty effectively.

Once turned, Barry finds his new team pretty quickly, much quicker than The Arrow did. There’s Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker, Shark, The Crazies), who lost her fiancé in the storm, Cisco Ramon (newcomer Carlos Valdes), the tech guy, and Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh, Ed, The Following), who created the particle accelerator that caused all the problems. One of them has a surprising secret that the pilot doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of, making for an interesting cliffhanger.

I kind of like the way Barry’s group is formed. It makes sense for this to happen early and all at once because of both the science in the premise and the way Barry turns. While Arrow’s secret is doled out slowly, The Flash is part of something greater than himself. The powers he gains may be personal, but they’re also part of a bigger problem for Central City, and can be used to help correct it.

This provides The Flash with plenty of villains right out of the gate. In the pilot, he faces one, but several others are hinted at, most notably an empty cage labeled ‘Grodd,’ one of The Flash’s most famous comic book rivals. More readily than other super hero shows, The Flash has a clear mission and a means to start working on it.

The pilot does a pretty good job setting all this up while still be entertaining, but it isn’t perfect. For instance, in the final showdown between The Flash and his first foe, good triumphs by doing something that doesn’t quite make sense. The physics are possible, I think, but the fact that the bad guy doesn’t just use his powers again right after he’s shut down is puzzling. It’s kind of weak sauce.

Because THE FLASH is on the CW, it’s probably going to be an inferior product than Gotham or Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s D.C., so it doesn’t have that cohesive Marvel mindset going for it. It’s lighter than Smallville or Arrow, its network peers, which makes it easier to cross the line into cheesy territory. These are all serious things to consider as the series moves forward, as while I do like the initial installment, it could easily be the weakest of the crowded current superhero TV series lineup. Which doesn’t make it bad, but may allow potential viewers to overlook it.

THE FLASH premieres Tuesday, October 7^th at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

Franklin & Bash engage in "Voir Dire"

This week's Franklin & Bash on TNT, entitled "Voir Dire," is an excellent, unique episode. The installment title lacks clear definition, but it has to do with jury selection, which is really what the hour is about. While "Voir Dire" is not the first jury trial to be featured on Franklin & Bash, it is definitely the first one where almost the entire episode is consumed with picking the jury, rather than trying the case.

The case of the week involves a man named Sal (Gino Anthony Pesi, The Vampire Diaries), who beat up three other guys. Missing the partners' meeting because, let's face it, Franklin (Breckin Meyer) and Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) are not the traditional law firm partners, they get assigned Sal as their client. At first, they'd like to argue self-defense, as Sal is trying to get out of a criminal enterprise. But after the jury is more than half picked, it turns out that Sal did the deed for love, throwing the selection process into disarray.

There are a number of twists, as per usual, and the dynamic duo get advice from all of their co-workers at multiple points during the episode. But rather than most cases of the week on this series, "Voir Dire" is more focused. There aren't as many side stories, supporting character bits, or superfluous scenes. Almost every moment involves the guys figuring out how to win Sal's case, and they repeatedly say that the key to doing so is to have the right jury.

Many Franklin & Bash fans may be disappointed that "Voir Dire" stops before the trial even begins. The preview for next week reveals that this isn't a two parter, either, and that this abrupt ending is the way Sal's case will be left. But considering how things shake out, and that Franklin and Bash are fist bumping, it is very clear that they got what they wanted, and the trial will go their way.

Now could the writers continue this story? Absolutely. It would be especially nice to see Bash and Franklin's amusing intern (Danielle Panabaker, Shark, Friday the 13th (2009)) again. But they don't have to pick up Sal's story to see the intern. And it might actually be a little drawn out to continue this plot arc, considering that the case just isn't important enough to warrant multiple installments. So they are wise to leave it alone. 

Though the episode leaves it in a good place, could this case be messed up by other factors? Of course! And that's what most episodes of Franklin & Bash, and most other legal procedurals, for that matter, focus on. The brilliance of "Voir Dire," though, is that it sets out to tell a very specific story about one small part of the legal process, and it does so, without worrying about what comes next. In that, it succeeds.

Franklin & Bash is enjoyable because of the sense of fun that the two lead actors bring to the table. However, "Voir Dire" is really the first time that the series proves how serious it can be. There are stakes here, and viewers are made to care about the client. It's easy to get just as invested in this jury process as the titular characters do, and, now more than ever, we get to see how Bash and Franklin accomplish their work. They aren't just playing games, but are real lawyers. This episode kicks the show up a notch, and hopefully there will be more like it in the future.

Watch Franklin & Bash Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.

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