Woo! There's a very optimistic rumour going around that The Flash: The Complete Series is coming to DVD next year! Woo woo woo!
I've always thought this was one of the greatest TV shows ever. Based on the DC Comic of the same name, and was actually quite faithful to the Silver Age character. John Wesley Shipp was Central City PD forensic scientist Barry Allen who, thanks to a lab accident involving a bolt of lightening, was given the power of super speed. When his brother - a highly decorated detective - is brutally murdered by a motorcycle gang, he learns that with great power comes great responsibility, and he becomes the Flash. Amanda Pays played his sidekick & love interest Dr. Christina McGee, a STAR Labs scientist researching Barry's powers.
Actually, it was a really interesting dynamic in the pilot between Barry and his brother. We learn that the Allens are a family of cops and by choosing to be a scientist, Barry was very much the black sheep. Even though he was a crime scene investigator (yup, CSI) and doing police work, he was seen as not being a real cop in the eyes of his father.
Anyway, I want to do some summaries of some very cool television I watched in the past 24 hours:
Enterprise: The Forge - Part I of the much-hyped "Vulcan civil war" arc. When there's a suicide bombing of the Earth embassy on Vulcan, Enterprise is sent to investigate. Among the dead, Admiral Forrest, Capt. Archer's longtime friend, commanding officer, and a major recurring character. Blame seems to rest with a religous cult called the Syranites, who follow a "corrupted version" of the teachings of Surak. So, while Commander Tucker takes charge of the Enterprise and continues the investigation, Archer and T'Pol go wandering in the Forge - a savage Vulcan desert - and home base of the Syranites.
It was pretty good. The continuity porn was in full force. Subtle referecnes to all things Vulcan that we learn in future generations. Vulcan Ambassador Soval finally determining to help Enterprise. It wasn't too bad. But I was still bored with it.
Justice League Unlimited: Wake the Dead - HAWKGIRL RETURNS, BABY! Hawkgirl's friend, the zombie strongman Solomon Grundy, is once again resurrected from the dead. But now, he's even stronger than he was before and he's going on a mindless, destructive rampage. He's laying waste to the Justice League left and right. And only Hawkgirl can stop him.
This is where Bruce Timm and his team has always kicked ass since Batman: The Animated Series. They are good at constructing character moments. Even in 20-minutes of solid action, there's always time for Hawkgirl to work through her residual angst over the final episode of Justice League. Great great great.
The Batman: Call of the Cobblepot - Bruce Wayne's fundraiser is crashed by the brash, young millionaire Oswald Cobblepot. But, this baffles Bruce because the Cobblepot fortune had long been squandered. While this is going on, Gotham City is plauged by a series of strange thefts perpetrated by trained birds. Naturally, this leads Batman to Cobblepot who, under the criminal pseudonym of "The Penguin," has resolved to rebuild the Cobblepot fortune through crime.
Now, the new Batman cartoon has been dubbed "Ultimate Batman" by most, so I was curious to see what they'd do for "Ultimate Penguin." Paul Dini in the book Batman Animated said that the main problem with the Penguin is trying to make him threatening. I mean, he's just a midget in a tux. Not much of a threat for the Dark Knight. So, it was curious to see what approach they'd take in The Batman. The result: in this version, Penguin has had some ninja training and is a fierce little warrior. His fights with Batman were reminiscient of Yoda vs. Count Dooku in Episode II. It was an interesting take.
Next Issue...It Is Written
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