Just forget the words and sing along

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Oh, I have to play catch-up. I got a load of more....

Flash Reviews!
Episode 5: Double Vision

Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: The Flash is injected with a microchip, thus allowing a mad scientiest to control the Flash through virtual reality.

What's Good: Love that trippy dream sequence where the Flash tries to uncover his suppressed memories of what he did while under the mad scientist's control.

What's Not So Good: Hey! Just like all action shows, it's the token "episode set in a city's ethenic community," so we can have all kinds of "get out of here, stranger!" and "you don't understand our problems!" scenes.

Final Verdict: That mad scientiest was actually a pretty cool villain. I give it a thumbs up.

Episode 6: Sins of the Father

Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: An old bank robber that Barry's father put away has escaped from prison and is gunning for revenge! It's up to the Flash to save his father!

What's Good: The Flash busting up a bar.

What's Not So Good: When it comes to 1-hour action shows, those "redemption between father and son" plots always seem kind of weak.

Final Verdict: A wholly unremarkable episode.

Episode 7: Child's Play

Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A young runaway has stolen an incriminating article designed to put away a 60s drug lord who's been hiding underground. Naturally, the 60s drug lord is all pissed off, because this'll put a cramp in his big comeback. It's up to the Flash to stop the drug lord and redeem the kid.

Hey! I Know That Guy! The young runaway was early-90s teen sensation Johnathon Brandis, who went on to greater fame as Lucas the boy genius on seaQuest.

What's Good: This episode contains two of my all time favourite Flash moments: the Flash uses his super-speed to catch bullets and hurl them back at a villain, AND, while high on the 60s drug lord's new drug, the Flash discovers that, when he vibrates his body at super-speed, he can pass through solid objects. Plus, one of the more accessible DC comics in-jokes. As the Flash, in his civilian guise as Barry Allen, passes a movie theare showing a double feature of Superman and Batman, he remarks "Haven't we had enough of these guys?" (In this scene, show composer Shirley Walker even slips in a little of Danny Elfman's Batman theme.)

What's Not So Good: The villain is like a bad guy from the 1960s Batman TV show, what with him being a hippy and all and having all his henchmans dressed as hippies and saying things like "groovy" and "far out, man." That, or when the Flash finally stops the villain by strapping on an electric guitar and playing a super-fast version of Purple Haze.

Final Verdict: This episode rocks. It's got healthy doses of comedy and drama.

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