What’s Worth Watching Fall 2014 – The Flash

In a television landscape that is bursting with comic book shows, The Flash readily distinguishes itself by completely embracing its comic book roots. From the moment the pilot episode begins, it’s clear that this show is not going for a “realistic” interpretation of comic book character The Flash ala Arrow ( a show so good it deserves – and will receive – a blog post of its own). It’s not trying to ground The Flash’s super speed powers in the real world and make them “make sense.” Not, it takes the complete opposite approach letting it comic book flag fly.

And it’s all the better for it.

The pilot hour (actually and hour plus as there were about 5 extra minutes tacked on to this episode) does a very slick job telling the dual origin stories of The Flash. The first story is how, as a child, Barry Allen’s mother was murdered and his father was convicted for the crime (that his father is played by John Wesley Shipp who, himself,  essayed The Flash in 1990 in the character’s first go round as a lead in a TV series, is a great touch). The second is the story of how The Flash gained his super speed powers. The narratives are very exposition heavy – most pilots are – but they come together nicely and are dispensed with fairly quickly.

Then the pilot becomes a terrific Flash adventure as the Scarlet Speedster fights a villain who can control the weather. The special effects are solid. The super speed visuals really work, and that’s a critical component to the success of the show.

I really like Tom Cavanaugh – I’ve loved him since he starred in Ed – and he is great here as one of Barry’s mentors: Doctor Harrison Wells. Jesse L. Martin is also great as Detective Joe West, a cop who raised Barry after his mother’s death and father’s imprisonment. The supporting cast is also terrific and each of them is a nod to the DC comic book universe. But the real star here, appropriately enough, is Grant Gustin as the title character. Funny and unassuming, he creates a super hero Everyman, more Spider-Man than Batman, more Christopher Reeve Superman than Stephen Amell Arrow. It’s obvious he’s having a great time in the role and, if last night’s premiere episode is any indication, he’ll be having a good time for what should be the series’ long… pardon the pun … run.

That I am a comic book geek means I picked up on dozens of references designed specifically for folks like me, but you don’t need to know comics to like this show.

Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

The Flash* Premiere Date – Tuesday, October 7* CW

THIS ONE IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH WATCHING.

RUN AND SET YOUR DVRs!

 

 

And There Came A Rumor I Want To Be True!

Growing up, my favorite comic book was The New Teen Titans. Featuring a roster of DC Comics’ teen, side-kick superheroes, it likely appealed to me because the characters were close to my age. I also had a strange (yes, “strange” is the right word) fascination with Robin – the later half of “Batman and…” and Robin was the leader of this group of heroes. Yes, that Robin, the first Robin, as in Dick Grayson, the original side kick, the ward of Bruce Wayne, a character that is almost as recognizable as Superman and Batman and Spider-Man. In his green shorts and robin-red-breast tunic, Robin was the brains behind the New Teen Titans. The comic book was so popular in the 1980s, it rivaled Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men in sales. Though the X-Men have shown more staying power over the years, The New Teen Titans remains my favorite comic book of all time.

My copy of The New Teen Titans omnibus autographed by co-creator George Perez.

During the course of the series, Robin would famously fall out with Batman and change his name to Nightwing, leaving the teen side-kick role behind.  Nightwing, then, superseded Robin as my favorite character then and remains my favorite to this day.

I had the opportunity to meet the co-creator of Nightwing, Mr. George Perez, at Denver Comic Con this summer. I chatted with him for about 10 minutes while he drew a sketch of the character for me. Jovial and pleasant, Mr. Perez was such fun to be around that I will return to Denver Comic Con next year to talk with him again.

Me and Nightwing co-creator George Perez – what a very nice guy he is!

There is a rumor today that TNT (Turner Network Television) is developing an hour-long drama based on The New Teen Titans called simply Titans. You can read the story HERE.

With Gotham, The Flash and John Constantine this fall  joining the truly excellent Arrow and the respectable Agents of SHIELD on television (I will blog about Arrow in a future post, but, if you watch it, you are familiar with another of Mr. Perez’s character’s, Slade Wilson who in the comics was called Deathstroke: The Terminator), there is clearly money to be made in superhero television shows. I hope that money extends to Titans. I’d love to see it.

Fall Television Episode One

It’s a different world. When I was younger, waiting for fall tv shows meant something. We didn’t have cable and summer premieres and streaming…

God, I sound like a curmudgeon.

The reality, though, was fall tv meant the start of new shows and it was the only time of year this happened.

While such novelty for fall television no longer pertains, the broadcast networks continue to put out the overwhelming majority of their new content in the fall. Preview issues of Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide are published and The Cinnamon Girl, the kids and I begin to discuss what new shows we might want to watch. Without a doubt, DVR makes this pursuit so much easier than it used to be with videotapes. Our DISH will record “Primetime Anytime” but that seems a bit much, doesn’t it?

Instead, we all zero in on what we might want to watch individually, what we might want to watch as a family and everything in between.

Stretch and I are the only ones interested in Survivor: Blood vs.Water while The Cinnamon Girl and I are planning on watching Hostages. The kids aren’t turned on by that. Though I need to catch up on last season (thanks, DVR!), I am all in on Arrow‘s second season and Sous Chef, Cinnamon Girl and I will, with sadness, catch up with Glee as they deal with the death of Cory Monteith.

What are we all looking forward to?

• The Blacklist
• Brooklyn Nine Nine
• Sleepy Hollow
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
• The Michael J. Fox Show
• Sean Saves the World

What are The Cinnamon Girl and I going to give a try?

• Trophy Wife
• Hostages
• Ironside
• Resurrection
• Almost Human (this may only be me!)

And, of course, our old favorites are returning!

• New Girl
• Modern Family
• Glee
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Big Bang Theory
• 24!
• The Mindy Project

For the next few weeks or so, I will post some brief reviews of new shows and render the only verdict that matters in our house: will the show take up DVR space?

I do like this time of year! Fall shows are fun.

And There Came A Gaffe… Trek/Wars, Mr. President?

“Jedi Mind Meld.”

Jedi Mind Meld? Come on, Mr. President! I voted for you!

Twice.

We were promised change. We were promised hope. You were the one who was going to do many things. Big things. Important things.

Like not screwing up the basics of Star Trek and Star Wars! *

You were the cool kid. I was not. You were the one who sat at the other table, the one I couldn’t walk past without being mocked. You were going to make it okay to like sports and Star Trek, to play pickup basketball on the court and Arkham Asylum on the X-Box, to watch The Daily Show and Smallville.

We had a deal, Mr. President. You were the first Vulcan president.

And now, after all this time, it comes to this?

Jedi.

Mind.

Meld?

My good friend, The Junior Senator, says he won’t vote for you again. Yes, yes, he knows you are term limited as Commander-in-Chief. But don’t run for Mayor or the School Board or Comptroller in Denver any time soon. If you do, I’ll have to work for the opposition. I’ll have to mobilize.

And I have too many episodes of Arrow on the DVR to watch and Countdowns to Geeky Summer Movies to write to do that.

As it turns out, you aren’t the geek I was looking for…

Kidding, of course.

I mean, how cool is it that Mr. Obama’s mistaken blending of Star Trek (Vulcan Mind Meld) and Star Wars (Jedi Mind Trick) is all over the news? Answer? VERY COOL! If JJ Abrams can cross the streams of Star Trek and Star Wars, why can’t the most powerful man in the world? (Second most powerful? I still can’t decide how much power Abrams now commands.) Either way… I know one thing:

While I had been thinking that John Boehner has some Watto-like resistance to the Jedi Mind Tricks the president has been trying to employ to get Congress to work with him in a constructive way, now I understand.

The President has been confused. He’s been doing it wrong.

You can’t meld and trick at the same time.

It’s like trying to make the Kessel Run at Warp Speed. It just won’t work.

* I should have warned readers earlier that this post is lousy with sci fi references. My apologies.