The Flash: Pilot
October 7, 2014 10:44 AM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe

A young crime scene investigator is struck by yellow science lightning and learns he has gained the ability to run super fast in this pilot episode for CW's new super hero show.
posted by kittensofthenight (41 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'm probably not the best person to be in charge of posting for this show, as I'm both lazy and don't actually have a TV, but I'd love to see fanfare posts for The Flash and Arrow. I'll try to do my best to make posts for both shows. I'm not actually sure how Fanfare formally works, so hit me up if you're interested in posting Flash or Arrow or working on posts together.
posted by kittensofthenight at 11:38 AM on October 7, 2014


I thought the episode itself was surprisingly good. The supporting cast is pretty diverse and charming, especially for the first ep. They've set up numerous love triangles, evil conspiracies and a convenient excuse for villains of the week that I'm looking forward to. And of course its great to see a superhero deal with trauma without being tortured, and solve problems by running fast and having friends. It gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

SPOILERS:
The Flash's costume looks amazing and the speed force effects were functional, which is good enough for me. I was kinda disappointed in the costuming and set up for Weather Wizard. However, having Weather Wizard in the first ep at all made me hopeful that they'll eventually get around to Captain Boomerang, my favorite DC villain and someone who would work amazingly in the grounded yet super-heroic world they're setting up.

Even though I loved most of the comic nods and teasers I found the tag at the end of the episode was a little ridiculous. I really like Arrow and its focus on an actual plot involving the characters in the show. I'm not happy about the implication in the teaser at the end of the pilot that DC's predilection for reality changing crisis events might take over the CW superhero universe. But that griping is for later. This was a fun pilot.
posted by kittensofthenight at 11:38 AM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Last comment:

I've only watched the streaming version that was released a while back, so I don't know if anything has been tweaked or cut for the broadcast version. I'd love to hear back from anyone who has observations.
posted by kittensofthenight at 12:22 PM on October 7, 2014


I was gonna say, this hasn't actually aired yet, right? Either that or I forgot to set up my DVR, but I was pretty sure this comes on tonight, in about 4 hours here on the East Coast.
posted by mstokes650 at 12:52 PM on October 7, 2014


It leaked....a month ago? More? But yeah, the official first airing (in the US, anyway) is tonight.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:36 PM on October 7, 2014


I'm not actually sure how Fanfare formally works, so hit me up if you're interested in posting Flash or Arrow or working on posts together.

Make a post about an episode (or movie) some time after it airs in at least one territory (no discussion that I know of regarding leaked episodes/movies, but the answer would probably be "just wait until it's officially available").

Some people become something of the unofficial show posters, and I think most folks assume they'll be the ones to post the next episode, or next movie in a movie club. But for popular shows, various people make the episode posts. And now that there's no 24 hour limit on making the next FanFare post, anyone can fill in gaps for shows at any time, so if someone else likes this guy wot runs fast show and they notice the episode isn't up yet, they can post it and don't have to stress because they posted an episode earlier that day.

Back on topic: I haven't seen this episode, but is the magical lightning strike really called "yellow science lightning"? If so, that would be amazing.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:29 PM on October 7, 2014 [2 favorites]


Captain Boomerang has been cast for Arrow as part of the Suicide Squad, so he has a good chance of turning up.
posted by kewb at 4:04 PM on October 7, 2014


mstokes- It was officially streamed, I believe? But the real broadcast is tonight.

kewb- Oh man that's so exciting.
posted by kittensofthenight at 4:07 PM on October 7, 2014


Scanning thus because I don't want spoilers, but how are folks watching this?? It premieres tonight in NA and it feels sort of cheaty to have a thread about a show I can't watch yet.
posted by Kitteh at 4:36 PM on October 7, 2014


No, the premiere never streamed; it leaked via torrent sites so AFAIK there is no way to have yet seen it legitimately. I agree we should probably in the future wait until shows are actually broadcast to post about them.
posted by Justinian at 4:40 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


I totally agree, sorry. Jumped the gun.
posted by kittensofthenight at 5:32 PM on October 7, 2014


Just finished watching the official broadcast, very fun. All the special effects were good (except for Arrow's guest appearance, that leap off the building was so slapdash). Wasn't thrilled with the dynamic they've set up with him pining for the love of his best friend/near-sister and hiding his secret identity from her, but everything else worked for me. I'm not familiar with the comics or any animated series runs, so, I don't know what's canon or not in this incarnation. Looking forward to the rest of the season.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:27 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Related post.
posted by homunculus at 9:29 PM on October 7, 2014


Watched the pilot not knowing anything about the show (or having ever seen Arrow) and am on board. Everybody seems to be on the same page as to what kind of show this is, so there's no weird tonal jumps like Gotham's pilot.

Could you imagine the Grodd Easter Egg being handled the same way as The Riddler? Instead of a shot of a burst out cage, we'd have a fifteen minute tracking shot of a pile of bananas and people walking zombie-like to pour more on the pile while a Voice Over talks about how that gorilla sure loved bananas and also a planet where apes rule over men.

Despite my jabbering through the episode about Who That Guy Gonna Be (Vibe! Killer Frost! Zoom!), my wife seems on board as well (insomuch she can ever be on board for a superhero show). The final reveal was a twist that lead to a good half hour of mental deduction as to who Wells really is (current guess: Rip Hunter), which is a good sign.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:16 AM on October 8, 2014 [2 favorites]


It's also nice to have a superhero on TV who is just a straight-up hero, no postmodern grim and gritty required to make it "cool" for the kids these days.
posted by Strange Interlude at 5:27 AM on October 8, 2014 [9 favorites]


I think "Lightning gave me abs?" may be my favorite line of the episode.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:40 AM on October 8, 2014 [5 favorites]


It's also nice to have a superhero on TV who is just a straight-up hero, no postmodern grim and gritty required to make it "cool" for the kids these days.


Also he is straight-up charming rather than just growly and hot.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:03 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


Lightning gave me abs?

This is why I'm having such a hard time buying Laurel Lance becoming Black Canary. There's no way she has the abs for the job.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:07 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]


I've been avoiding watching the torrented copies of this -- it's been available for a long time. And I've read mixed reviews. But back when I was a kid, The Flash was one of my few favorite DC superheros. I watched the first six or seven episodes of The Arrow but lost interest. I don't know if this will keep my interest. Hell, I stopped watching S.H.I.E.L.D. early on -- I may have a high bar for these sorts of shows (I didn't even finish the first episode of Gotham).

But this thread has convinced me to give this a try.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:31 PM on October 8, 2014


This is why I'm having such a hard time buying Laurel Lance becoming Black Canary. There's no way she has the abs for the job.

The actress, at least, is working on it, though.
posted by mstokes650 at 3:36 PM on October 8, 2014


Here's a link to the Comics Alliance re-cap. Reading it makes me feel old. The writer sounds like a pre-teen explaining the episode to their friend on the phone, but then I realized pre-teens don't spend hours on the phone anymore.
posted by kittensofthenight at 5:09 PM on October 8, 2014


Jesse L. Martin's line delivery of "Shut the hell up" made me laugh out loud.

I hope they give the actress playing Iris more to do than be one side of a love triangle, because she's adorable. While I hope the show isn't as heavy on flashbacks as Arrow, I do want to see flashback baby Iris as Barry's childhood friend.
posted by nicebookrack at 4:33 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Watched it, loved it. Barry not being any kind of anti-hero was quite refreshing, and the actor nailed it. Plus They seeded DC mythos gags/foreshadowing really well, and in such a way that it's tough to tell what's going to come back later and what's just a nod to the fans, which is a good way to do it. Well, with one exception, which ties into hoping Iris gets more to do -- the fate of her relationship with "Eddie Thawne" is not really the world's most mysterious mystery.

WRT Wells, (possibly spoilery if I'm right) my initial thought was Rip as well, but after a bit of reflection I'm putting my money on Hunter Zolomon. The breaking point is that I can't buy Rip Hunter, Science Hero Of The Timelines, pulling the whole "whoops, we created a few dozen supervillains and completely failed to notice, maybe somebody should get on that eventually after they kill a bunch of people" thing. But Zoom, the guy whose entire gimmick is forcing the Flash into supervillain battles and assorted tragedies in order to "make him a better hero"? Yeah, that would be spot on.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:14 AM on October 9, 2014


Hah, yeah, that would make sense too - I keep forgetting that there are multiple "anti-Flash" characters out there. I hope they use the first Reverse Flash who was a one off guy who moved real slow and looked kind of like a turtle. He'd be no worse than Balloon Man, that's for sure.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:31 AM on October 9, 2014


He would be infinitely better than Balloon Man.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:39 AM on October 9, 2014


He could probably be played by the same actor. Dan Bakkedahl could make a career playing the loser one-off villains of the week that used to populate the Golden and Silver ages. Need a Stilt Man for the Daredevil show on Netflix? Call Dan! Need a demonic shlub for Constantine? Bakkedahl's agent is on Friendster! Egghead! Paste Pot Pete! Kite Man! Crazy Quilt! Who you gonna call?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:52 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


the fate of her relationship with "Eddie Thawne" is not really the world's most mysterious mystery

I am very curious if Eddie Thawne is going to turn out to be a red herring that twists another way entirely, relative of Eobard or not. [MAJOR ARROW SEASON 1 SPOILERS] Arrow fans spent all of season 1 waiting for Tommy Merlyn to be revealed as a duplicitous supervillain. But nope, turns out he was exactly as solid and sweet a guy/friend/boyfriend as he seemed. And his loss had a devastating effect on both heroes (Oliver's no-kill rule, Laurel's downward spiral) and villains (Malcolm's Thea craziness). And on me. Man, I still miss Tommy. Anyway, I doubt the Eddie/Iris/Barry triangle will play out in exactly the same way as Tommy/Laurel/Oliver, but I'll be disappointed if Eddie Thawne turns out straight-up evil. [/END MAJOR ARROW SEASON 1 SPOILERS]
posted by nicebookrack at 7:33 AM on October 9, 2014


I enjoyed the straight up superhero/villain parts of this. I found his Sherlock Holmsing at the beginning to be unbelievable -- he's basically got the staff and computers of CSI in his head. He really just measures and analyzes tire treads in his head? No using any tool next to the tread for measurement purposes? (Also, lucked out with having a tire that's used on only one type of car.) I also can't believe that a young man who can do this has to be struck by weird lightning to be a superhero. How are these abilities not more amazing than running fast?
posted by Margalo Epps at 1:33 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


I hope they give the actress playing Iris more to do than be one side of a love triangle, because she's adorable.

She also gets to be on the receiving end of expository dialogue!

Wasn't too impressed with the pilot, but it was better than Gotham. I prefer a bit of a lighter tone (see also: Guardians of the Galaxy). Not sure if I'll keep going. I stopped keeping up with Arrow and past episodes aren't sticking around as long on CTV's web site, unfortunately.
posted by ODiV at 3:10 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


Tuesday night was the first night in at least five years that I sat down and watched a program as it was broadcast. I was pleasantly surprised with it. Flash is one of my favorite superhero characters and I have issues of the Flash from the original Barry Allen period and the Wally West period. Wally was the Flash when I was a kid reading comics, so he's my favorite, but I'm fine with Barry being the TV Flash.

As someone who also fondly remembers the early 90s Flash TV show, I liked that John Wesley Shipp (who played the Flash in the first show) played Barry's dad.

My main concern is that they may have splashed out on special effects for the pilot and then they will tighten the budget for those in subsequent episodes. Still it was great that the show was medium-light in tone and that Grant Gustin seemed to be charismatic and capable of ... acting! I've already recommended the show to a few friends.
posted by Slothrop at 6:20 PM on October 9, 2014


As someone who also fondly remembers the early 90s Flash TV show, I liked that John Wesley Shipp (who played the Flash in the first show) played Barry's dad.

Gaw, that's why he seemed so familiar!

I finally watched the pilot last night and while I enjoyed it, I was kind of underwhelmed on the technical side. I felt the editing seemed a little disjointed, as if there was a two hour pilot somewhere that had been chopped down to what was aired. Two parts that stood out in particular had to do with when Barry runs for the first time, right into the laundry truck. We almost immediately jump to him with Team Starr Labs at the runway, preparing to do a test. Where's the part where he decided to go back and talk to them? To ask them for their help? We had to simply accept that all happen, which was a weird jump, I thought. Another was his chat with Oliver/Arrow. Did he just run around Starling City until he found the Arrow? How did Oliver know to meet up with Barry? We see Barry running for Starling City and somehow we end up on a roof top with the Arrow, because, well, why not? Why not the lab where everyone hangs out when not on patrol or other things?

Most of my problems, I think, came from it being the pilot episode. I'm hoping it runs a little more smooth in future episodes.

I generally like Barry, but I agree, the weird riff on Sherlock, was kind of weak sauce, especially since that manner of representing his mind never came up again. The supporting cast was great. I did wonder how a ruined Starr Labs managed to afford all the gear they had, unless it's just the old stuff left behind.

The villain wasn't bad, but I had to wonder, "Why didn't Barry who can run faster than the wind in the tornado, not just pierce the tornado and tackle the weather guy?" The impact alone would knock the dude out of his mind and probably would have left him alive instead of with the detective's bullet in his chest.

All in all, I'll keep on watching, but I'm hoping the production is a bit smoother.
posted by Atreides at 12:52 PM on October 10, 2014


Another was his chat with Oliver/Arrow. Did he just run around Starling City until he found the Arrow? How did Oliver know to meet up with Barry? We see Barry running for Starling City and somehow we end up on a roof top with the Arrow, because, well, why not? Why not the lab where everyone hangs out when not on patrol or other things?

You missed the backdoor pilot (sorta) for The Flash, which is S2E8 of Arrow, in which Barry Allen is brought in from Central City to consult on a robbery, and ends up being let in on Oliver Quinn's other identity because he's the only person sciencey enough to save Quinn from a poison.
posted by axiom at 2:37 PM on October 10, 2014 [2 favorites]


Also, in the season opener of Arrow, you hear Barry set up the meeting with Oliver. They didn't just randomly meet each other.
posted by Quonab at 3:07 PM on October 10, 2014 [1 favorite]


Ah, I missed it in the season three premier. I was aware of Barry's intro last season on the Arrow.
posted by Atreides at 8:17 AM on October 11, 2014


Thanks for filling in the Arrow parts of the Flash -- I haven't watched it since early season 1.
posted by Margalo Epps at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Finally got around to watching this (and the Arrow premiere, doing them backwards, whoops). I'm liking the lighter tone and noticing a lot of similarities and differences in terms of how they're setting up the relationships, specifically comparing the Flash/Joe West relationship to the Arrow/Detective Lance relationship, which is tone-crucial. There are definitely some rough edges, but it's the pilot.

My husband is a big Flash fan and he was delighted by the Grodd cage callout. His other observation is that there were two brothers in that plane and the Weather Wizard in the comics is the one who didn't die yet. (And yes, we're waiting for Captain Boomerang around here too.)
posted by immlass at 11:43 AM on October 12, 2014


I was hoping for the show to be lighter in tone than it was (the stuff about Barry's parents was way too angsty for me, and West angrily telling Barry that his dad killed his mom seemed way more brutal than necessary.) Maybe subsequent episodes will be more to my taste now that they've got the tragic backstory out of the way.

Ollie's speech to Barry seemed out of character, given Ollie's reservations about letting other people like Roy and Helena fight. Also Amell seemed to be phoning that performance in.

I liked Caitlin and Cisco. I suspect I am never ever going to care about the Barry/Iris/Pretty Boy triangle, so I hope there's more fun stuff in subsequent episodes.
posted by creepygirl at 9:28 PM on October 13, 2014


That one dude smiles a LOT.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:34 AM on October 16, 2014


I love me some Barry Allen. Grant Gustin is adorable. I do like that he's close with his foster family.

On the other hand, Iris as another Laurel Lance does not thrill me.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:04 PM on October 18, 2014 [1 favorite]


Sepia-toned flashback (no pun intended) in the first minute to Ye Olde Times: the year 2000.

'Fuck me I'm old' I said, out loud.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:25 AM on October 27, 2014 [4 favorites]


I'm very late to this party, as I'm working on watching all of the Arrowverse shows (and some adjacent stuff) in order. This was ok, as a first outing. I like the moment where Barry stops near the sign saying "Starling City 5 miles", and sparks are ablating off the jacket he's wearing. The supporting cast I'm not sure about...the episode seemed a bit too busy to give most them any opportunity to distinguish themselves.
The brief detour into a crossover with "Arrow" was simultaneously great AND a huge cringe-inducing groaner. Oliver is not a person who smilingly whsipers "Cool!" to himself.
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:44 AM on September 18, 2021


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